Groupe Beneteau and Fountaine Pajot Group have announced the creation of E-LEKTRA MARINE, a 50/50 joint venture that brings together seven major sailing brands — Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Excess, Fountaine Pajot Sailing Catamarans, Fountaine Pajot Yachts, and Dufour — with the aim of accelerating the electrification of sailing and advancing low-emission onboard solutions, building on technologies already developed by both groups to create a scalable platform that defines a shared industry standard.
Today, more than 99% of sailing vessels still rely on diesel engines. Even boats designed primarily for wind propulsion require combustion engines for harbour manoeuvres, calm conditions, and onboard energy needs.
To address this reality, E-LEKTRA MARINE will develop integrated electric and hybrid systems capable of managing both propulsion and onboard energy autonomy within a single, unified architecture. These systems optimise energy flows between propulsion, solar generation, batteries, generators, shore power, and onboard systems, while offering real-time monitoring through intuitive interfaces.
The initiative is supported by specialist partners including Alternatives Energies, Cirtem, and EVE System, alongside the industrial expertise of both groups.
By combining the production volumes of these seven brands — representing around 60% of the global sailing market — E-LEKTRA MARINE seeks to reach the scale required to make electric solutions more accessible, competitive, and widely adopted through an open and standardised system.
The target is to support the electrification of 10% to 15% of the global sailing market by 2030, representing several hundred boats per year.
Mathieu Fountaine (left) and Bruno Thivoyon (right)
“With E-LEKTRA MARINE, two major players in the sailing industry are joining forces in an unprecedented alliance to accelerate the electrification of sailing. By combining our industrial expertise, we aim to establish open standards and make low-emission solutions simpler, more accessible and scalable.”
- Bruno Thivoyon, Chief Executive Officer, Groupe Beneteau
“After several years of deployment, Alternatives Energies has demonstrated that scalable solutions do exist. The E-LEKTRA MARINE joint venture with Groupe Beneteau shows that our industry can mobilize around shared environmental objectives. Today, electrification is becoming essential; it must now be made accessible across the entire sailing market.”
- Mathieu Fountaine, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Fountaine Pajot
At Soproyachts, as the official importer of Beneteau Sailing and Fountaine Pajot in Portugal, we welcome this development and the clear direction towards more sustainable and technologically advanced sailing solutions.
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