This year’s Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards, held at RAI Amsterdam during Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo Europe, featured a wide array of categories to recognize the scope of innovation and achievement across the maritime sector over the past 12 months. 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, consultants and industry experts.
To recognize the increasingly prominent role of sustainability in the maritime sector, the awards featured three categories focused on environmental development.
The first, Environmental Achievement of the Year – Propulsion System Design, was won by Tidal Transit, for the e-Ginny CTV project, which converted a diesel crew transfer vessel to 100% electrical power.
“With global offshore wind capacity set to soar even further as the UK’s electricity grid continues to decarbonize and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix, it’s now more important than ever to make the transition to electric and hybrid crew transport,” said Tidal Transit’s commercial director, Leo Hambro. “The Electric & Hybrid Marine Awards are a testament to just how pressing this need has become. We’re thrilled to have been recognized for our hard work in designing and engineering a world’s first diesel-to-electric retrofit project, which we truly believe will become the model for the future of low-carbon crew transport.”
The next award of the night went to Vessev, which picked up the trophy for Environmental Achievement of the Year – Vessel Design, impressing the jury with the VS-9. The cutting-edge design includes an innovative foiling system that can reduce hull drag to 20% of that experienced by a comparable, non-foiling craft.
The third category of the evening was the Environmental Achievement of the Year – Industry Contribution award. This was won by the Ultra Efficient Yacht Project, a collaborative venture led by Optima Electric Yachts and focused on developing hyper-efficient boat designs.
“Optima is delighted to receive another award for our ultra-efficient electric motor yachts, especially from such an esteemed publication as E&H Marine,” said David Kendall, CEO of Optima Electric Yachts. “It has taken four years of development to produce the most energy-efficient yachts on the market with a range of up to 150 miles under battery power alone.”
The next category was for Concept Vessel Design of the Year – a popular new award since it was added in 2023. From a strong field of shortlisted entries, Hurtigruten Norway impressed the jury with its Sea Zero cruise ship concept and was awarded first place.
“We are greatly honored and proud to receive this award and the recognition of the hard work our employees and our partners have made on this project so far,” said Hurtigruten COO Gerry Larsson-Fedde. “We are still in early stages, and our task now is to pave the way for new innovations and enhance existing ones to align with our goal.”
In the New Propulsion Technology of the Year category, 2024 saw another strong performance from Molabo, which also picked up the trophy last year. This year, the company was recognized for its Aries R50 system.
Molabo COO Adrian Patzak said, “We are honored to receive the New Propulsion Technology award for the second year in a row. Our new Aries R50 is the first 50kW electric outboard engine with safe-to-touch voltages. This simplifies installation and reduces costs by eliminating the need for high-voltage-certified personnel.”
In the Vessel Charging Innovation of the Year category, Oasis Marine took home the award for the Oasis Power Buoy, an offshore charging solution due to commence a pilot scheme in 2025.
“It is a great honor for Oasis Marine to be awarded this accolade,” said managing director George Smith. “We have been pioneering and driving forward offshore charging technology since 2020 with our Oasis Power Buoy development, initially designed for charging windfarm maintenance vessels offshore. To have our work recognized here is a great reflection of the hard work put in by our team as we support the transition to net zero by providing critical offshore charging infrastructure.”
The Ports and Harbor Innovation of the Year award was won by Igus for its Mobile Shore Power Outlet (IMSPO), which features a moveable socket that can be positioned to suit the vessel in dock.
“The Igus MPSO addresses a key requirement for port electrification,” said juror Jamie Marley, echoing the feedback from across the judging panel.
Genevos was the winner of the Hydrogen Technology Breakthrough of the Year award, adding to the company’s triumph in the same category last year. In 2024, the judges recognized Genevos for its HPM-250 – a 250kW fuel cell module.
“It’s testament to the great work going on at Genevos that the company has won this award for two years in a row,” said awards chairman and E&H Marine editor-in-chief Matt Ross. “With hydrogen sure to play a key part in marine decarbonization, this category is more important than ever, and the winners are showing what great progress can be made.”
The final award of the night was for the Marine Industry Supplier of the Year – a category that champions the suppliers working to enable decarbonization across the marine industry. Another closely fought category was won by Wärtsilä, with judges citing the company’s leadership position across a whole range of applications and technologies – even beyond the marine sector.
For more information about the winners, visit www.electricandhybridmarineworldexpo.com/en/awards.php.