Simply Abu Dhabi XXXV

D id you know that the hottest 20 years on Earth since climate records began in 1850 have all occurred in the last 23 years?Moreover, the hottest five years on record have been the last five years, and 2019 is on schedule to maintain this shocking trend. Lowering global warming temperatures to pre- industrial times is no longer an ideology but a very real necessity. That means reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45% over the next eleven years and halving our global CO2 emissions. And that’s the bare minimum. Start- up company Torqeedo believes that its range of electric mobility and lower carbon transport plays an important role in changing the way we live and travel, and it’s teamed up with BMW battery development to help make its vision of a cleaner future on water happen. In short, Torqeedo’s mission is to convert fossil fuel and combustion engine boating into lower carbon electric mobility. Marrying a passion for boating with scientific progress and technology, it is continually striving to improve its range of electric drive train systems, and at present has more than 95,000 electric systems in the field. This is predominantly in the field of day sailing and tenders (below 8m or RIBs below 5hP). Headquartered in Munich, in 2017 Torqeedo was acquired by DEUTZGroup, a manufacturer of diesel engines. Bought out by DEUTZ to speed up its development of electric and hybrid drivetrains for construction, agriculture and in- house technology, Torqeedo itself has leveraged the move to accelerate its development of sustainable and modern mobility on the water. While boating only accounts for 1.3% of the world’s entire electric mobility, 50% of this has been achieved by Torqeedo. For most innovations in the 21st century, being a green and sustainable product is near enough reduced to a prerequisite. Simply producing electric alternatives to combustion engines won’t cut it, says co-founder andCEOof Torqeedo, Dr Christoph Ballin. “Our products need to be more sustainable than what is currently on the market, and with a competitive edge. This means we never just deliver an electric motor or battery or one component. Typically, we deliver a complete package required to drive the boat; both lower and higher power systems.” Overall efficiency is another of Torqeedo’s core principles, and that means comparing howmuch power goes into a drive system, and how much comes out, as opposed to putting emphasis on the propeller shaft power (which is the way automobile performance is measured). “In boating, the propeller losses are substantial, so shaft power does not denote the amount of power generated for the boat”, explains Dr Ballin. “Propellers also vary and can lose up to 75% of the shaft power.” Compared to the automotive industry, boating accounts for a much smaller slice of the pie. This means it takes a lot longer for the technologies to translate to the marine side, which is why the yachting sector is not as yet on a par with Tesla. It also limits Torqeedo from being able to provide products for all boating sectors, and at present is yet to provide a competitive solution for superyachts. However, when it comes to kayaking, sailing, ferries, water taxis, rescue life- saving and tenders, momentum is substantially growing, and in some cases, electric is not only competitive, but superior. Sailing dinghies and tenders are Torqeedo’s best-selling area, driven by its 3hP electric solution with an integrated lithium battery. Providing the same amount of power and lighter than a combustion engine, the 3hP outboard motor starts with the push of a button, and is quieter, cleaner, solar chargeable, waterproof, and can be controlled from a smart phone. In April 2019, Torqeedo unveiled its latest product, the ultra-quiet direct-drive Travel 1103 C motor. Delivering equivalent propulsive power to a 3hP combustion outboard and suitable for boats up to 1.5t, the integrated onboard computer with GPS-calculated range and runtime data, fully variable forward and reverse, make it both easy to use and easy to maintain. Equipped with a lightweight, high- performance lithium-ion battery that simply clicks on top of the motor, it has an integrated USB port for charging a mobile phone or camera, and a combined weight of just 17kg. “Since their launch, Travel motors have become the preferred outboards for dinghies, tenders and small sailboats”, said Dr Ballin. “The Travel 1103 C does everything a small combustion outboard can do but it’s lighter, much quieter, easier to use, cleaner to handle and store, andmore environmentally friendly.” In August 2019, Team Malizia and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg made a stand against climate change by sailing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic from Plymouth, UK, to New York City aboard the high-tech foiling sailboat Malizia II, equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity during the journey. In order to avoid the extremely high carbon emissions from air travel, Thunberg chose to make the two-week transatlantic journey via sailboat to attend the upcoming UN climate summits in NewYork and Chile. The aim was to demonstrate that it is possible to switch to climate-neutral mobility. “Convincing governments and international institutions to enforce laws that will protect mankind and biodiversity is of the utmost importance for the future of humanity”, says Pierre Casiraghi, founder of Team Malizia and co-skipper. “Team Malizia and I are proud to take Greta across the Atlantic in this challenging mode of transport. Unfortunately, sailing is still the only way to do so without fossil fuel emissions. Hopefully this will change in the near future.” In support of TeamMalizia, Torqeedo provided electric port and harbour support vessels on both sides of the pond. In other words, Torqeedo- powered electric boats assisted Team Malizia with docking, towing, passenger transport and general harbour support that would typically have been provided by combustion-powered boats. “Fighting the climate crisis requires that we all take a hard look at not only our individual choices, but also at the stands we choose to take as business leaders, as politicians and as citizens”, says Dr Ballin. “We have the technology to build better, cleaner transportation, whether it’s over land, in the air, or on the sea. It’s time we do so.”