Here is the Top Yacht Design 31 Editorial in which our Editor in chief Matteo Zaccagnino talks about the transition we are walking trought. (Here all the others editorials)
The Turning Point!
Transition. Never was there a more apt term to define the period we’re living through. In all fields, bar none. Driving the change is the need to find sustainable, efficient solutions – sustainability, in fact. It’s too soon to gauge the impact they will have on our behaviour and how our lifestyles will evolve as a result, but the process has begun, and cannot be stopped. It’s right to ask questions when we’re faced with such momentous changes. Losing sight of reference points and finding new ones is a tough challenge. Adapting to a new scenario takes time.
Occasionally it can cause the kind of heated debate we’re seeing in the auto industry right now, where the shift to e-mobility on the roads has divided opinion along very distinct lines. Some have become vociferous defenders of the change, while others are sceptical about the real advantages and benefits this choice will provide for the end user. And here we come to the point of all this – consumers, or rather, the clientele. Spectators of a change which, at a certain point, will force them to make choices that will have an impact on the way they get around.
Top Yacht Design 31 – Charging times, charging points, range, programming digital systems and managing on-board features according to how much they consume. At this point it’s justifiable to ask what all this has to do with the yacht-building industry, and especially design. At the moment there is no real response. Some idea, though, can be provided by taking notice of the many signals emanating from the sector. The first boat shows of the new season have further highlighted this issue. On the agenda of the largest yards, sustainability is increasingly becoming a central element in choices and investment. As an outside observer it’s been interesting to see how each one has chosen its own route to follow. One of the most committed supporters of the change is the Sanlorenzo Group, which has launched a plan called Road to 2030.
A key element of this process is the agreements signed with partners like Siemens Energy, MTU and Volvo Penta, enabling the group to launch three yachts featuring systems based on hydrogen derived from methanol. One will make use of this technology to generate energy while the others will use it for propulsion. For its part, in the year of the 180th anniversary of Riva’s foundation the Ferretti Group has announced the El-Iseo, the yard’s first full-electric model. Some, like Azimut-Benetti, are staking their future on hybrid propulsion, designing more efficient hulls and using lighter materials to make swingeing cuts in emissions. The race has just begun, but it seems wise to ask what the right direction may be.
