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Using disruptive Technologies to facilitate the Ecological transition of the Nautical sector

TECoNaut, the European project to facilitate skills for the green transition in the nautical industry, gets underway

the team

The project, funded by the European Union, will be implemented over three years by a consortium made up of European marine organisations, institutions, academics and shipyards from seven countries: Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Greece and Turkey.

TECoNaut aims to promote the use of sustainable materials in the nautical industry developed with cutting-edge technology, driving the race towards the ecological transition and the employment opportunities offered by “eco” nautical construction.

It will be officially presented at the Palma International Boat Show on 26th April

April, 2024

European recreational boating is on the road to sustainability, a process in which recreational boat building faces two major challenges: the use of more sustainable materials and the need to recruit and train qualified professionals for the implementation of these materials.

The TECoNaut project was created andnow is coordinated by Sea Tech, funded by the European Union and managed by a consortium of partners from seven European countries.

To meet the mentioned challenges and provide answers by helping to bring about the necessary change in the supply, use and application of these materials, the TECoNaut project will follow a strategy based on four objectives that correspond to four axes of work:

  1. Comprehensive identification of skills gaps, aligned with the multilingual European classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations
  2. Development of a course for Vocational Training on sustainable composite materials
  3. Design of an internship programme for higher education students who will work on the application of Deep Tech skills and sustainable materials in companies.
  4. To awaken the entrepreneurial mindset of students and future workers in the “eco” nautical sector.

Quotes…

“In this first phase of the project to publish its objectives, the web communication tools https://teconaut.eu are already in the development phase, which will have versions in all the languages of the project partners and social media profiles to which other informative materials will be added, as well as the launch of various events, whose calendar will start with the official presentation of the project at the Palma International Boat Show, on 26 April” (…) “For the Spanish nautical industry it is a great challenge to join this project that will have a direct impact on the objectives that the industry clearly demands of us: qualitative professional skills and technological development that will help us to draw a sector that is closely aligned with the sustainable indicators that have been set for industrial development in the European framework”

Jordi Carrasco, general manager of ANEN

“As an Industry we want to focus on reducying the environmental impact across the life-cycle of the boats. Using more sustainable composites materials is an essential element of our industry. We are excited to be part of the teconaut project to create the skills our industry/workers/we need.”

Philip Easthill, Secretary-General of EBI

The European boating industry in figures

The boating industry in Europe, with more than 6.5 million boats, is made up of 32,000 companies, directly employing more than 280,000 people.

The majority of the currentfleet is built from glass fiber composites . In addition to the implementation of recycling solutions of 30 to 40 thousands tons of composite waste from end-of-life boats the use and implementation of new and sustainable fibres and resins for boat construction is necessary.