So far no one has come to charge in Lagos

But Fortunato is not surprised by the lack of demand: So far, there is not an electric boat in any of his 500 boxes. Does that cause frustration? „You have to make a start,“ he says unapologetically. His customers are interested, but no one would buy a new yacht just because of the new offer. But the marina would: „We’re going to buy an electric workboat soon.“

Martinho Fortunato had an Aqua charging pole installed in Lagos, Portugal, in June 2022 © Wildberg

Fortunato considers commercial users to be the more attractive target group: „Private boaters are out and about too rarely; for them, fast charging is not yet worthwhile.“ Incidentally, he says, the change needs to be exemplified: „If people see that it even works for working boats, they’re more likely to be convinced.“

This is also the opinion of Marc-Entienne Lansade, mayor of Cogolin and, by his own account, a passionate motorboat driver. On the occasion of the inauguration of „his“ column at the marina, he gave an extensive eulogy on the new era. In conversation with float, he admits that even technology is still relatively remote to him.

When asked what kind of boat he drives, Lansade replies with an embarrassed smile: „Nope!“, he won’t reveal that here. Electric boats are even rarer than electric cars, especially on the Cote d’Azur. Aqua’s project is a bold bet on the future.

The RIB X9 Explorer can be operated with an e-motor from Evoy © Hersteller

But Lansade, like the marina operator Fortunato and the Aqua people, has no doubt that the electrification of water sports makes sense. Aqua makes this clear in its advertising flyer with a drastic example: A ten-meter-long day boat with a diesel engine produces about 1,290 kg of CO2 during a day trip – as much as a car in three months. Fortunato adds: „After all, it’s not just about CO2 avoidance and fewer pollutants in the air and water: E-motors cause less noise, above and also under water.“

Automotive developments go fast

The parallels to electric mobility on land are obvious, believes Aqua’s CEO Alex Bamberg. He should know: The Briton developed the second-largest fast-charging network on England’s roads by 2019. His company, Genie-Point, is now part of a French electric utility empire. And Bamberg is enthusiastically dedicated to the idea of applying the pattern to another element. „I’ve learned an incredible amount from the car market,“ he says.

Electromobility on the water benefits immensely from this experience, as the car industry is at least ten years ahead. And developments there are rolling over: „I reported my plans to Porsche management five years ago: I predicted to them that their 911 would no longer be the bestseller in their portfolio within the next six years.“ At the time, Porsche people would have laughed. „It took three and a half years for an electric Porsche to become their top seller in several countries in Europe.“ Bamberg predicts the same phenomenal transformation for the boating industry.

Alex Bamberg transfers his experience from the automotive market to the boating industry © Wildberg

He draws another parallel to his experience with Genie Point: „If you put the charging points down, the vehicles will follow.“ It builds confidence, and that’s necessary, he says, because there is still concern about lack of range. The most common question from electric boat buyers today, he said, is still: What is the range on one battery charge? It is now up to Aqua to go into the field and install sufficient charging stations at the shortest possible intervals.

No threat of a short circuit

Charging itself is child’s play and far less dangerous than refueling. „As long as the cable connection is not established and the current flow is activated, nothing can happen,“ says Bamberg. Even if the heavy plug and cable fall into the water, there’s no threat of a short circuit. „The line is dead.“

The charging process is initiated via smartphone app © Wildberg

Only when the charging management system on the boat communicates with the charging station can the process be started with a tap on the app. In principle, the process is the same as charging an electric car at any fast charging station. There, too, power accidents in the event of rain or thunderstorms are practically impossible.