Nov 7, 2023

After tallying the votes from a panel of 25 international electric boat experts and 5,000+ electric boat enthusiasts all over the world, the fourth annual Gustave Trouvé Awards for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating – ‘The Gussies’ – has announced the recipients of its 2023 1st Place honours. 

Awards were presented to nine boats, from high speed sport models to hydrofoiling urban ferries to wingsail-assisted solar-electric yachts and a refitted 1930s classic.

The awards are the only international boating awards that focus exclusively on electric boats and recognize craft already in production as well as concept boats and those in late development stage. They include electric leisure boats, workboats, commercial passenger vessels, sailboats and fossil fuel boats that have been refitted with electric propulsion. The full list of winners with images and short descriptions can be seen at: https://plugboats.com/gussies-electric-boats-awards-winners-2023/

Winners of The 2023 Gustave Trouvé Awards:

            • Production Electric Boat Up to 8m / 26ft: Axopar 25e by Axopar Boats, Finland 

            • Concept/In Development Electric Boat Up to 8m / 26ft: NERO777 Evolution by Nero Yachts, Germany

            • Production Electric Boat Over 8m / 26ft: ZEN50 by Zen Yachts, Spain 

            • Concept/In Development Electric Boat Over 8m / 26ft: Soel Senses 62 by Soel Yachts, Netherlands 

            • Electric Sailboat: Fareast 42C by Fareast Boats, P.R. China 

            • Electric Workboat: Tideman RBB 700 OB by Tideman Boats, Netherlands

            • Electric Commercial Passenger Vessel In Operation: Ferry 2306 E3 ‘Bryggen’ operated by Arriva Denmark, propulsion by Damen, Netherlands and Echandia, Sweden 

            • Electric Commercial Passenger Vessel In Development : Artemis EF-24 by Artemis Technologies, UK 

            • Retrofitted / Customized / DIY  Electric Boat: Lockheed 1937 by Boats and Cars of Kingston, UK 

The awards, now in their fourth 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 160 boats were nominated, with the finalist list narrowed down by the International Judging Panel and eventual winners chosen through a combination of public voting and weighted ballots from the Panel. The panel is comprised of representatives from international electric boat associations and events along with all past Gussie winners. This year’s winners will join the panel for the 2024 awards.

“The sheer number of nominees shows just how quickly the world of electric boats is growing, and they show that however you would like to travel across the water, or just enjoy your time on it, electric can do it. It is happening all over the world. Gussies winners this year came from 7 countries to make a total of 20 countries that have had a boat builder awarded since 2020.”

‘The Gussies’ 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. SkyQuest Technology Consulting estimates that the electric boat market will exceed USD 14.95 Billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 12.96% from 2023 to 2030.*