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SVN Solovelanet Global
I
n the automotive industry, it now seems
obvious that the future of propulsion is going
to be electrical, particularly in city centres,
or at least hybrid, combining the benefits of
a heat engine with those of an electric motor
as well as reducing consumption. In the boa-
ting industry and especially in Northern Europe,
where there awareness about these issues is
perhaps more felt, we are already seeing many
applications, that are interesting under several
points of view.
To give substance to the analysis, as per SVN's
practice, we had an interesting exchange of
views with Thomas Gromeier, a sailing enthu-
siast, racer and owner of the company Latitude
12, that provides technical-commercial advice
on the production of electric propulsion sy-
stems for sailing yachts and powerboats.
Benefits
The benefits of an electric solution are easily
understood, starting from the most obvious one
which is undoubtedly the lower environmental
impact of the entire life cycle of an electric sy-
stem (implementation of the propulsion system
+ batteries + charge + disposal) compared to
the thermal one (engine construction + fuel +
emissions + periodic maintenance + disposal).
With an electric motor, it would again be possi-
ble to use powerboats on lakes where thermal
propulsion has been banned in order to avoid
pollution. Many cities in Northern Europe, such
as Amsterdam, are making the biggest push for
electric propulsion to be used in canals in order
to minimize the environmental impact of sailing
activities.
by Antonio Giovannelli