Circle Economy Foundationnews
Published on: 
February 9, 2024

What can the marine industry learn from the circular car?

On Monday 14 November Ben Kubbinga, Circle Economy's Lead Partnerships and Collaborations was invited to speak at the Sustainability in the Marine Industry Conference organised by METSTRADE and ICOMIA's Amsterdam chapter. Read his blog about the insights of the day below. The hot topic of the day was how the circular economy could work for boat designers, builders, owners, recyclers and other marine industry stakeholders. It quickly became apparent how relatable Circle Economy’s current work in the automotive industry could easily translate to the trends that are starting to emerge in the marine industry as well.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9auMJauR4Y[/embed]Susie Tomson, Sustainability Manager for Landrover BAR, for instance, showed how the Land Rover BAR sailing team actively looks for ways to recycle carbon fiber reinforced plastics and closely collaborate with material experts from Land Rover. Enrico Benco from GS4C, inspired the audience with his dream to build a  boat made entirely of recyclable materials, like basalt fiber. Additionally, a few speakers touched on the fact that the next generation of boat users don’t want the burden of owning a boat, instead they just want access to floating comfort while going from point A to point B. These trends share many similarities with those that are starting to emerge in the automotive industry. In both industries, the results of this trend could be that:

  • The ownership of cars and boats will stay with manufacturers, leasing companies or sharing platforms
  • Fleets of cars and boats will decrease while their usage rate will increase

As these trends are coming to the surface the key question for future fleet owners and automotive manufacturers alike becomes: how can they get as much as value out of their products as possible?Circular strategies provide an answer. With circular strategies the aim is to preserve the value of a product, its parts, its materials and labour and energy that went into producing and transporting it, for as long as possible. By applying this overarching goal to their manufacturing and operating processes, fleet owners of the future - together with their supply chain - can develop a longer lasting, more sustainable business that will not be affected by material scarcity and price volatility. . When seeking to achieve this goal there are three key strategies they should consider:

  • Design for disassembly based on modularity, standardised parts and recyclable materials. An inspiring example is the modular boat "EC 30”, designed in the same way as the Mini made by Lego.
  • Smart lifetime extension with telematics and the internet of things solutions for maintenance, (remote) upgrades, repairs and remanufacturing. Smart systems for preventative maintenance of boat engines already exist, at this point it’s only a matter of applying this strategy to expanding the range of parts and components available.
  • Recovery and upcycling of cars, boats and components for reuse and high value recycling. If this can be be done for cars, why not for boats?

As the momentum and need to apply circular strategies continues to build, the potential of the circular economy, to innovate and disrupt the marine industry shines a spotlight on the opportunities that exist for new business models and designs in this field.

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Blogpost by Ben Kubbinga, Lead Partnerships and Collaborations at Circle Economy. Ben holds MSc degrees in Biology and Environment & Resource Management. His professional life started in Italy as a consultant within Food and Agriculture and as EU funding advisor. Later he worked for the Dutch government as funding advisor on environmental projects. This is when he became aware of the potential of the circular economy. He believes in a world that works like an ecosystem, where offer and demand depend on infinite resources, and where prosperity is based on profoundly fulfilling lives - his ambition is to implement the ideas of a circular economy around the world.[hr]Interested in how the learnings from the automotive industry could easily translate to the trends that are starting to emerge in the marine industry? Read our Circular Car report, published in collaboration with ABN AMRO. Within the report we have investigated the trends in consumer demands and how car component suppliers can stay ahead of the curve by applying circular strategies to meet them. Download the full report below.[cta link="http://www.circle-economy.com/case/on-the-road-to-the-circular-car/" ]Download[/cta]

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