Technological neutrality key to marine industry sustainability

In the world of government policy and regulations, advocacy is always about the ‘ask;’ what one would like elected or agency officials to do. And sometimes, what they can do is nothing at all. Such is the case with sustainable technologies and fuels for the recreational boating industry.

While an oversimplified literary license, the marine industry is advocating that the US government and regulatory agencies avoid putting momentum – not to mention any potential budget dollars – behind any single solution to reducing overall marine emissions.

“We have to educate the administration and members of congress that boats are different than cars,” explained Clay Crabtree, director of government relations for the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). “It’s surprising that you have to do that, but there is an education gap with members of Congress and the administration when it comes to that so it’s important that folks take an ‘all of the above’ approach and not just focusing on one specific technology, but a technology neutral approach.”

The neutrality issue is not a new one for the industry to bring to members of Congress during the American Boating Congress (ABC), recreational marines annual three-day lobbying event in Washington, DC. But this year, boating is armed with a new study from the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) showing that sustainable fuels – especially drop-in sustainable fuels – will address both new boats and the existing fleet and demonstrate that the marine industry has the ability to meet the 2016 Paris Agreement standards, and averting what its president Darren Vaux calls “one of the greatest regulatory threats facing the industry for the coming decades.”

“There is a tendency in the administration and Congress to say, ‘go electric,’ well, there are 12 million boats that are out there, and boats last a long time, so let’s focus on some e-fuels that can go into the existing fleet that’s out there, let’s focus on taking the ‘all of the above’ approach,” Crabtree said.

Based on the numbers alone, sustainable fuels will do far more, far quicker for meeting marine emission reduction goals than electric or hybrid applications. Unlike automotive, “the diversity of recreational marine vessels and use cases means sustainability and decarbonisation initiatives cannot take a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach,” he added.

So, the ask for NMMA this year as in the past is that Congress do nothing to back any single technology, opting instead for technology neutrality. But if Congress does take action, it should expand the research & development tax credits and investments to improve battery density, e-fuels development and hydrogen research.

Recreational boats – which produce 50% of their carbon footprint in the pre-operating phase, unlike cars at between 10% and 15% – account for less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The marine industry, Crabtree said, has come together to find solutions to further reduce those.

Since 2000, the industry has reduced emissions from marine engines by more than 90% and increased fuel efficiency by 40%.

“Our overall objective is to say [to regulators],” ICOMIA’s Vaux told the Industry Breakfast in February, ‘We’ve got this. We know what to do to take it forward’.”