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This is how Catalan nautical companies are revitalising the sector
27 September, 2024
Sustainability and innovation will be two of the great legacies of the 37th America’s Cup in Catalonia, whose nautical sector is making steady progress towards decarbonisation.
The Catalan nautical sector is promoting decarbonisation, from the port to the boats. The electric llaut from Electric Inside Boats is an example.
“The nautical sector is experiencing an incipient renaissance. Since the 1990s, the nautical sports industry has been disappearing, mainly due to external competition and high local tax pressure. However, sustainable proposals have emerged after the pandemic that are generating a new prominence, boosted by the visibility of the America’s Cup sailing (which in its 37th edition is held in Barcelona)”.
Marcelo Penna is a naval architect and owner of Marcelo Penna Yacht Design and MP Engineering, and he explains the hopeful and exciting moment that the nautical industry in Barcelona is going through. He and his company are part of the Sectorial Roundtable for the Decarbonisation of Nautical Industry, a diverse and multidisciplinary ecosystem that works to reduce emissions in the city’s nautical sector, promoted by the Barcelona Capital Nautica Foundation.
The sectorial roundtable for decarbonisation
“Marcelo is just one more protagonist of the aforementioned Roundtable, a public-private initiative promoted through the Barcelona Capital Nautica Foundation that encourages the adaptation of products to an increasingly ‘sustainable’ demand. To this end, innovation within the nautical industry, which in turn contributes to improving its competitiveness, is essential, as well as the contribution of very varied nautical agents… including the visibility and inspiration that the current edition of the America’s Cup allows us to have at home.
The America’s Cup has been a collective motivation, highlighting electric boat projects that will leave an important legacy in decarbonisation.
Marcelo Penna
— Naval architect and owner of Marcelo Penna Yacht Design and MP Engineering
“Decarbonisation in Catalan nautical is transforming the sector with new technologies, electrification and key collaborations between companies and authorities, always under the coordination of the Barcelona Capital Náutica Foundation. Since 2020 we have accelerated our sustainability, electrifying the docks and replacing machinery with electric models. We also work on waste management and recycling, with projects in collaboration with the Port of Barcelona.”
Marc Hervás is the sustainability manager of MB 92 and another actor very involved in the project through his specialisation in the refit of large yachts. Among the great challenges for Marc and MB 92 is to achieve “energy efficiency, use of alternative materials and the transition to electric and hybrid propulsion systems”.
All of this fosters the innovative and pioneering nature of this Roundtable, which is made up not only of companies, but also of institutions and actors in the nautical sector, and is chaired by ACCIÓ (Generalitat de Cataluña) and Barcelona Activa (Barcelona City Council), under the coordination of the aforementioned Barcelona Capital Náutica Foundation (with the technical support of BarcelonaClúster Nàutic).
