ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN MANUFACTURING
Yamaha Rightwaters, founded in 2019, has just under 50 partners and is beginning to expand globally. across water, as the energy requirements are much greater,” she explained.
However, electric power proves to be viable in certain segments today.“ We see electric propulsion as an important yet niche part of our portfolio. Mercury launched the first Avator Electric Outboards in 2023 and expanded the product line in 2024.”
Today, Mercury offers five electric outboard sizes ranging from the 7.5e to the 110e. Koenig noted that these engines are well-suited for powering smaller recreational vessels like pontoons, runabouts, skiffs and RIBs.“ Beyond electric for lowpower propulsion, it is too early to predict the significance of other options.”
She shared that utilizing sustainable fuels, for example, will require the establishment of a distribution network that reaches the 10,000 marinas in the U. S. and others around the world.
Grier added that demand for sustainable fuels remains low because there are no strong incentives for manufacturers to develop and distribute them at a high volume.
Despite this, both manufacturers addressed the issue of the existing fleet of ICE-powered boats.“ The turnover for those boats is not fast,” Grier said.“ It can range from 10 to 20 years per boat. If we can swap that gasoline with sustainable fuels, whether it’ s biofuel, things that are derived from different kinds of feed stocks, we can cut carbon emissions tremendously without having to reinvent the wheel.”
However, sustainable fuels still have a long road ahead. Grier acknowledged the perception that sustainable fuels offer only partial emissions reductions compared to cleaner technologies like electric.
“ Electrification has certain emissions that are not necessarily included in apples-to-apples comparisons to fuels. For example, electricity is only as clean as the grid is,” he added.“ It’ s also important to consider the emissions created from battery creation. There are many moving parts.”
Alternative power solutions come with development challenges and environmental trade-offs. According to Grier, the greatest challenge for hydrogen-powered engines is the lack of infrastructure to support them. Still, Yamaha is preparing for that future. In 2024, the company introduced its first hydrogenpowered outboard, the Yamaha H2.
“ The long-term vision for propulsion is all about a multitechnology solution,” Grier said.“ Basically, a different kind of propulsion technology for every use case. Internal combustion where it makes sense, hydrogen where it makes sense, electric where it makes sense.”
As manufacturers work to make each solution viable for the marine industry, their success is increasingly tied to the development of a supportive ecosystem. Significant challenges include the scarcity of charging infrastructure, potential grid impacts from increased demand, and the need for a skilled and qualified workforce in these segments. Without these developments, even the most innovative electric boats will face significant adoption barriers.
Grier concluded that, in addition to developing environmentally safe products, OEMs must communicate the state of the industry to regulators.“ There’ s an open communication between a lot of them on where things are, what the emerging technologies are going to be, and what those emerging technologies need in order to succeed.”
The value of sustainability in manufacturing
“ It’ s a tough challenge,” Koenig echoed.“ That’ s why it is important to focus on other areas where both environmental and financial impact can be made, including the use of energy, management of wastes, and selection of raw materials. When thoughtfully and strategically addressed, these areas represent opportunities for manufacturers to reduce costs while reducing their carbon footprint.
“ Brunswick’ s guiding philosophy is to focus on sustainability initiatives that create value either by reducing costs or through introduction of next products,” she added.“ The introduction of Avator provided an additional product opportunity or propulsion method for some dealers. Beyond that, our initiatives are more internally focused on efforts like reducing energy use, increasing product circularity and generally improving the carbon footprint of our products and operations.”
“ One of the key things with sustainability,” Grier noted,“ if you really want people to buy into it, you need to not only explain why it matters but then make it as seamless for them as possible.”
www. boatingindustry. com july / august 2025
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