Winners announced in international Electric Boats and Boating

The Gussies’ honour 8 boats from 8 countries in 5 categories – from electric ferries to ocean-going yachts to recreational runabouts – powered by batteries, solar, wind and hydrogen. After tallying the votes from more than 10,000 electric boat enthusiasts all over the world and an international judging panel of e-boat experts, the second annual Gustave Trouvé Awards for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating – ‘The Gussies’ – has announced the recipients of its 2021 honours.
The awards recognize boats already in production as well as boats not yet on the water but in late development stage. The full list of winners with images and short descriptions can be seen at: https://plugboats.com/gustave-trouve-electric-boatawards-winners-2021/ 2021Winners of The Gustave Trouvé Awards:

• Electric Boats Up To 8 metres/26 ft, In Production: Cantiere Ernesto Riva eCommuter, Italy
• Electric Boats Up To 8 metres/26 ft, In Development: Freepower Solar Boat, Norway
• Electric Boats Over 8m/26 ft, In Production: Silent Yachts Silent 60
• Electric Boats Over 8 metres/26 ft, In Development: Aquon One, Switzerland
• Electric Boats Designed for Paying Passengers, In Operation: The Maid of the Mist, USA
• Electric Boats Designed for Paying Passengers, In Development: Zero Emission Double Ended Ferry, Lamarca Engenharia, Brazil
• Customized / DIY Electric Boats: IRON, ecomarine, Bangladesh
• Electric Sailboats: Sunreef 60E, SunReef Yachts, Poland

The awards, now in their second year, were created by electric boat website Plugboats.com to recognize the inventors, designers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and visionaries who are making advances every day to develop clean, quiet, zero emission technologies and designs to reduce reliance on fossil fuel for marine propulsion.

Over 100 boats were nominated in 2021, more than twice as many as in 2020, with the finalists and eventual winners chosen through a combination of public voting and weighted ballots by a panel of industry experts from: the Electric Boat Associations of the UK, USA, Greece, Canada and Switzerland; the Alternate Fuels Committee of Inland Waterways International and the Venice 2028 organization and e-Regatta.

“The number of entries and the response from the public shows just how quickly electric boats are growing.” said Jeff Butler, Editor/Publisher of Plugboats and Founder of the awards. “Whether it’s a family day boat, an ocean cruiser, river tour boat or the Maid of the Mist ferry at Niagara Falls, electric boats can do it all - without the noise, fumes and carbon emissions of fossil fuels.”

‘The Gussies’ are the only international boating awards that focus exclusively on electric boats and are named to honour Gustave Trouvé, a prolific French inventor with over 75 patents to his name who was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1882. Among his innovations was the world’s first outboard boat motor, which he devised so that he could detach the motor from his prototype electric boat ‘Le Teléphone’ and take it home to work on in his Paris apartment. While M. Trouvé’s invention predates the 1887 patent of the internal combustion engine, and electric boats have been available since the first years of the 20th century, it is not until recently that they have begun to enter the mainstream.

Analysis from Research and Markets in February of 2020* estimates that the global market was worth US$ 4.49 Bn in 2018, and is expected to grow to US$ 12.32 Bn by 2027.

The announcement of this year’s winners took place on July 27, the 119th anniversary of Gustave Trouvé’s death in 1902. “The international panel members had some discussions the other day” said Butler ‘and for next year we are going to make some revisions and additions that will make The Gussies even bigger and better to mark the 120th anniversary.” Nominations for the 2022 awards open May 26, the 141st anniversary of M Trouvé’s first electric boat trip down the Seine.