2023 Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards presented in Amsterdam

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  • he awards featured a range of new categories, expanded to cover the ever-changing nature of the electric and hybrid marine industry
  • The winners were announced at a drinks reception at RAI Amsterdam on June 20, 2023
  • The night’s winners: Genevos, Hydro Impulse, Leclanché, the team behind the MF Hydra, Molabo, Shore-Link, the SWIM consortium, Ulstein and Vard

This year’s Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards, held at RAI Amsterdam during Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo Europe, featured an expanded array of categories to recognize the scope of innovation and achievement across the maritime sector over the last 12 months. Now comprising nine categories, the Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards were a celebration of recent advances in marine propulsion technology and progress toward a greener and more sustainable industry.
The awards, which were coordinated by Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International magazine, were officiated by a panel of international journalists and industry experts.
To recognize the increasingly prominent role of sustainability in the maritime sector, the new-look awards featured three categories focused on environmental development.
Hydro Impulse took home the award for Environmental Achievement of the Year – Propulsion System Design, for its groundbreaking impeller system.
“We are deeply honored that Hydro Impulse has been recognized at this year’s Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards for our revolutionary impeller systems,” said CEO Alois Bauer. “This award not only symbolizes the culmination of years of dedicated work and innovation by our team, but also represents a significant advancement in sustainable maritime propulsion.”
In the Environmental Achievement of the Year – Vessel Design category, the team behind Norled’s MF Hydra was recognized for the development of the world’s first liquid hydrogen-powered ferry. A project that showcases the power of collaborative development, the MF Hydra benefited from the expertise of a host of companies from across the marine industry. Representatives from Norled, Ballard Power Systems and SEAM united on stage to collect the trophy.
The award for Environmental Achievement of the Year – Industry Contribution was taken home by the SWIM consortium, a collaboration between Enviu, Zepp.solutions and Flying Fish. The consortium launched its hydrogen-electric SWIM watertaxi in the Port of Rotterdam, and the vessel has led to the development of the country’s first permanent hydrogen-refueling station for boats.
“This award is a great recognition of our joint effort and how together we have created a wave for positive change!” said Maarten Fonteijn, venture builder at Enviu and project leader for the watertaxi project. He was joined on stage by Gijsbert van Marrewijk, co-founder at Flying Fish, and Jonas Brendelberger, co-founder of Zepp.solutions.
The Concept Vessel Design of the Year award was won by Ulstein for its Thor concept – a 149m 3R (Replenishment, Research and Rescue) concept design featuring a thorium molten salt reactor to generate vast amounts of clean, safe electricity. This enables the vessel to operate as a mobile power/charging station for a new generation of battery-driven cruise ships.
“This design represents genuine innovation,” cited one of the jurors. The award was collected in Amsterdam by Ulstein chief designer Øyvind Gjerde Kamsvåg.
The New Propulsion Technology of the Year category was a closely fought one, with the jury opting for Molabo’s plug-and-play drive system as the winner. Jurors pointed to a number of key factors of the Molabo system, including safety, ease of installation and the role of plug-and-play solutions in reducing system costs. The award was received by Adrian Patzak, managing director of Molabo.
In the Vessel Charging Innovation of the Year category, Vard was declared the winner for its Ocean Charger technology.
“We are very grateful and motivated by this award, and it pushes us to continue our efforts toward zero-emission vessel operations,” said Håvard Lien, vice president of research & innovation at Vard. “For us it is also a confirmation from the industry and the market that this solution is a key piece in the green transition for ship operations, and a vital part of our ZeroClass strategy.” Øystein Longva, chief technology officer of Vard Electro, was in Amsterdam to receive the award.
Shore-Link won this year’s award for Ports and Harbor Innovation of the Year, impressing the jury with its self-propelled cruise shore power solution – which members of the jury described as “fascinating” and “key to the future vessel charging”.
“We are honored to receive the Ports and Harbor Innovation of the Year award,” said Levan Chikviladze, chief sales officer for Shore-Link, who collected the trophy on the night. “This recognition is a testament to the work and dedication of the Shore-Link team, who have tirelessly contributed to the development and execution of our self-propelled CMS cruise solution. We would like to express our gratitude to the judging panel and Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo for acknowledging our efforts in advancing maritime technology for a more sustainable future.”
With hydrogen technology continuing to grow and develop across the marine sector, Genevos took home the 2023 award for Hydrogen Technology Breakthrough of the Year.
“Following last year’s win of the Electric & Hybrid Propulsion System of the Year award, we are honored to be recognized as the 2023 Hydrogen Technology Breakthrough,” said Genevos CEO Rebecca Sharp. “This award recognizes our contributions to accelerating the hydrogen transition through the development and AiP marine certification of the high-power 80kW HPM-80 (hydrogen power module) stackable to multi-MW scale. I am proud to share this trophy with the team, which is the direct result of dedication and passion to protect our oceans with a practicable zero-emission power solution for marine craft.”
The final award of 2023 was for the Marine Industry Supplier of the Year. Out of a shortlist of well-established names, Leclanché took the top spot in a category that saw judges asked to consider suppliers working to enable, facilitate, promote and champion decarbonization across the marine industry.
“We are humbled and thankful to be recognized by this influential panel of judges for this top honor,” said Guillaume Clément, Leclanché’s vice president of e-marine, who accepted the award in Amsterdam. “Leclanché has been an active participant in the marine industry for many years and we’ve developed a strong and consistent track record of innovations.”
With the new categories, the expanded 2023 awards now have a chance to champion even more fantastic work taking place across the maritime industry, and to reflect the scope of achievement taking place in R&D centers, design studios and laboratories around the world.
“The level of innovation and development in the marine sector continues to increase from one year to the next,” said Matt Ross, editor-in-chief of Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International magazine and chairman of the awards. “In order to really reflect the sheer scope of advancement in electric and hybrid propulsion systems, we needed to take another look at the awards categories. Our new structure, I believe, enables us to cast an even wider net, and gives us a chance to recognize and celebrate the most groundbreaking work taking place across the electric and hybrid marine sector.”
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