Winners announced for the 2024 ‘Gussies’ electric boat awards
The fifth annual Gustave Trouvé Awards for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating, known as ‘The Gussies,’ has announced the recipients of its 2024 first place honours. The awards are determined by votes from a panel of 32 international electric boat experts and more than 6,000 electric boat enthusiasts worldwide.
The Gussies focus solely on electric boats, recognising production models, concept designs and projects in advanced stages of development. Categories include electric leisure boats, workboats, commercial passenger vessels, sailboats, and retrofitted fossil fuel boats with electric propulsion systems. Winning entries originate from Canada, France, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the UK, and the USA.
This year, the awards were sponsored by Aqua superPower, BlueNav, and Oceanvolt.
The 2024 Gustave Trouvé Award winners:
Electric boats up to 8m (26ft):
- Production Boat: Sun Concept EVO 7.0 Cruise by Sun Concept, Portugal.
- Concept/In Development Boat: ENVGO NV1 by ENVGO, Canada.
Electric boats over 8m (26ft) (presented by Aqua superPower):
- Production Boat: Sialia 45 Sport by Sialia Yachts, Poland.
- Concept/In-Development Boat: Optima e14 by Optima Electric Yachts, UK.
Electric sailboat (presented by Oceanvolt):
- Fountaine Pajot Aura 51 by Fountaine Pajot, France.
Retrofitted/customised/DIY electric boat (presented by BlueNav):
- Vital Spark Paul Sparrow V3 by PlusZero/Paul Sparrow, UK.
Electric workboat:
- EF12 Workboat by Artemis Technologies, UK.
Electric commercial passenger vessels:
- In Operation: hyke Shuttle 0001 by hyke, Norway.
- In Development: Wada Hoppah 58 by Wada Hoppah, USA.
The awards were established by Plugboats.com, an electric boat news website, to recognise individuals and organisations contributing to zero-emission marine propulsion technologies. This includes inventors, designers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries.
Over 160 boats were nominated this year. Finalists were selected by the international judging panel, with winners determined through public voting and weighted ballots from the panel. The panel consists of representatives from electric boat associations, industry events, and past Gussies winners. Winners from 2024 will join the panel for the 2025 awards.
Jeff Butler, editor and publisher of Plugboats and founder of the awards, says, “Over the past five years, the growth of electric boats and electric boat technology is astounding and now encompasses hydrofoiling, solar and hydrogen technologies. This is a revolution taking place on lakes, rivers, coastal waters and oceans all over the world, and the number and excellence of boats shows that things are only going to keep moving faster.”
The awards honour Gustave Trouvé, a French inventor credited with over 75 patents, who received the Légion d’Honneur in 1882. Trouvé developed the first outboard motor, which could be detached from his prototype electric boat, ‘Le Teléphone,’ for maintenance at home.
Electric boats, which have been available since the early 20th century, have become more prominent in recent years. According to Yahoo Finance, the electric boat market is projected to grow significantly as boaters increasingly opt for sustainable solutions. Allied Market Research reported in June 2022 that the global electric boat market, valued at $5.0bn in 2021, is expected to reach $16.6bn by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.9 per cent between 2022 and 2031.
Leave a Reply