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Announcing the world’s first awards dedicated to honouring the individuals and companies responsible for exceptional design and innovation in the burgeoning world of electric marine propulsion.

The electric boat and boating industry is expanding each day in every region of the world as the benefits of marine propulsion achieved without burning hydrocarbons become more and more evident to consumers, corporations and governments.

With this growth in the industry and the quickening pace of innovation, the time is right for an awards program that will recognize and honour the achievements and innovations of the individuals and organizations that are creating, designing and producing these boats, motors and associated systems.

While there are dozens of awards for general boat design, boat building and various other aspects of the industry, some of which have limited categories that include electric boats, there is no awards program that focuses solely on electric boats and boating.

This proposal outlines an awards program – The Gustave Trouvé Awards for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating – that will rectify this situation and celebrate past achievements while spurring further innovation and advancement in all aspects of electric marine propulsion.

The Gustave Trouvé awards are named after the French inventor who won the country’s Légion d’Honneur for his work in developing electric mobility in general and the electric outboard motor in particular.

The proposal is that the Awards be voted on by a combination of electric marine propulsion experts and public vote and be presented at the inaugural e-Regata in Venice, Italy, June, 2020.

Nominations will be made by a panel of international electric boat experts that are unaffiliated with any of the potential nominees. Members of the panel will also serve as the core of the voting committee.

The awards are intentionally set out to be modest in scope. They will focus on the specific category of recreational boating in order to set up a manageable process with the best possibility for success.

Initial success is expected to lead to increased awareness and support from the industry and public along with a wider variety of categories as well as refinements to the nomination and voting processes.