The Minister for Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia, Roger Torrent i Ramió, presented the project 'Decarbonisation of Leisure Craft' to promote the electrification and decarbonisation of the Catalan nautical sector, coinciding with the America's Cup being held in Catalonia. Torrent presented the electric boat manufactured by the Zephyr Boats boatyard, which is the first in the project, which aims to foster innovation and technological development in the sector and its international positioning.

The initiative, which has a budget of 3 million euros, will involve four Catalan boatyards which will build six electric boats of various sizes and specifications, which will sail during the America's Cup in Barcelona beginning this summer.

The Minister explained that "as soon as the announcement was made that the America's Cup would be held in Barcelona, the Government began working to ensure that it would have a socio-economic impact that would go far beyond the competition: we want it to leave a permanent imprint and have an impact not only on Barcelona, but on Catalonia as a whole." He pointed out that "we have channelled this commitment to a legacy in three areas: undertaking innovative projects with an industrial focus, creating opportunities for the country's small and medium-sized enterprises, and nurturing the growth of the nautical sector and the blue economy.

The project aims to boost the competitiveness of the Catalan nautical sector, taking advantage of the challenge of decarbonisation and reinforcing the technological development of companies in this field, by both constructing boats and manufacturing recharging systems.

The initiative began in 2023 by identifying Catalan boatyards' technological capabilities in terms of electrification, and selecting the Electric Inside, Magonis Electric Boats, Marcelo Penna Yachts and Zephyr Boats boatyards to participate in the project.

These six boats will be exhibited and used for the Barcelona Nautical Capital Foundation during the America's Cup, taking advantage of the international focus on Barcelona to promote the initiative as strategic for the country, and to showcase the Catalan-made boats.