Sustainable boat construction recognised

Northern Lights Composites (nlcomp) has won the World Sailing Technology Award for sustainable boat construction with its ecoracer recyclable yacht.

The award recognises the advancements in racing technology, including boat design, concepts and ground-breaking innovations that are changing the face of sailing and pioneering change across the world.

Nlcomp says it is tackling one of the biggest environmental challenges in the sailing industry – fiberglass boat waste.

“It is really a huge honour to win,” said CEO of nlcomp, Fabio Bignolini.

“A celebration like the World Sailing Awards is unique, and we are grateful to World Sailing for giving us this opportunity. 

“We hope that our technology will become more present in the industry, and I hope this award will helps us spread the word.”

He added: “It is really important to win this award because it gives us credibility in the sailing industry, and as a start-up it is difficult to get recognition in the market.

“We hope this award will give us the credibility we need to keep pushing the industry and making progress with sustainability in the sport.”  

The ecoracer yacht – the first recyclable production boat – is made using sustainable solutions in boat construction that have been developed to address environmental challenges head-on, said nlcomp.

The craft is designed by yacht designer Matteo Polli and incorporates nlcomp’s sustainable composite material, rComposite.

By replacing traditional thermosetting resins with a thermoplastic matrix, nlcomp has enabled easy chemical processing and raw material recovery, ensuring that the boat can be recycled at the end of its lifecycle.

In addition, onboard equipment and systems are powered by renewable sources such as solar, hydraulic and wind energy.

Sustainable boat construction

And the hulls of the boats are designed with the aim of facilitating end-of-life dismantling, following the principle of ‘designing for disassembly’.

The company has also collaborated with other shipyards such as Grand Soleil and Beneteau to incorporate sustainable technologies into their new boat designs as well as patented recyclable composite material to address end-of-life issues of fiberglass boats.

Through the collaboration with other shipyards, nlcomp says its technology is helping to drive widespread adoption of eco-friendly construction materials.

The ecoracer has already won championships, which nlcomp says demonstrates that sustainable technology can also be high performing.

Formerly the Boat of the Year Award, the World Sailing Technology Award has been expanded to acknowledge advances in racing technology and innovation.

The award is presented annually at the World Sailing Awards to celebrate outstanding achievement in the sport.