At Miami Boat Show, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. unveiled the world’s first hydrogen-powered outboard for recreational boats along with a prototype fuel system integrated into a vessel that the company plans to further refine for testing later this year. The effort is part of Yamaha’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality: deploying multiple technology solutions. Yamaha joined forces with Roush to develop the fuel system to power the new outboard and collaborated with long-time boat builder partner Regulator Marine to build a boat suitable for testing the prototype outboard. Together, the companies plan to begin testing the protype for viability on the water in the summer of 2024.
The company have taken a major step forward in their commitment to carbon neutrality by becoming a member of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA). This positions Yamaha alongside other key stakeholders in the engineering world who are desirous of investing in the achievement of carbon neutrality. The FCHEA’s primary goal is to lead national advocacy efforts urging all levels of government to support the research, development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
This is in addition, of course, to Yamaha acquiring the electric outboard brand Torqeedo. With Yamaha’s sustainable aims increasingly becoming focused on decreasing marine emissions, besides electric power, their fuel cell development and efficiency programme will likely inspire others within the marine industry to work along similar lines. Indeed, as Yamaha position themselves in the hydrogen arena, their collaboration with the FCHEA and the company’s advancements in hydrogen and electric outboard technologies indicate noteworthy progress with regard to the pursuit of cleaner powering solutions within marine leisure trade.