Initiative aimed at redefining standards

Today, more than 99% of sailboats are equipped with a diesel engine. To change this, two leading boat manufacturers have created an alliance to accelerate the electrification of sailing and advance low-emission solutions.

French companies Groupe Beneteau and Fountaine Pajot Group, which together have seven major sailing brands — Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Excess, Fountaine Pajot Sailing Catamarans, Fountaine Pajot Yachts and Dufour — have formed E-LEKTRA MARINE.

“With E-LEKTRA MARINE, two major players in the sailing industry are joining forces in an unprecedented alliance to accelerate the electrification of sailing,” said Bruno Thivoyon, Chief Executive Officer, Groupe Beneteau. “By combining our industrial expertise, we aim to establish open standards and make low-emission solutions simpler, more accessible and scalable.”

Rather than each developing their own technological base, the two groups have chosen to co-build a shared platform open to the entire boating industry.

The partnership will combine the scale and capabilities needed to create a shared standard for electric propulsion and onboard energy autonomy, with the goal to bring electric solutions to 10% to 15% of the global sailing market to electric by 2030.

“Today, electrification is becoming essential; it must now be made accessible across the entire sailing market,” adds Mathieu Fountaine, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Fountaine Pajot.

Sailing is a unique case in the energy transition: it combines the challenges of the automotive industry — silent propulsion with lower emissions — and those of housing — autonomous energy management, far from any grid.

While an electric car can be recharged at any time from a power outlet, a sailboat must be able to produce, store and distribute its own energy at sea. Solar power, batteries, generator, propulsion, onboard comfort: all energy flows must be orchestrated in real time.

The challenge for E-LEKTRA MARINE is not only technological: it is also economic. By bringing together the production volumes of seven brands (60% market share), as well as those of other major players in the sector, the platform aims to reach the industrial thresholds required to make these solutions simpler and more competitive.