Lievegem, July 28, 2021 - The Belgian start-up ECO2boats is building the world's first circular speedboat. The OCEAN 7 will be made entirely of ecological fibers and, unlike classic boats, will not contain a sliver of fiberglass, plastic or wood. Result: a speedboat that does not pollute, but takes 1 ton of CO2 out of the air.

To finance the circular speedboat, ECO2boats is currently raising money through www.doneeractie.nl/ eco2boats/-54544 and PMV/z's WinWinl loans. Next year ECO2boats wants to cross the English Channel with the OCEAN 7.

For the construction of the OCEAN 7, ECO2boats is working with the Belgian innovation Ecomp, a composite that is at least as strong as plastic or fiberglass but consists of natural materials such as flax and basalt. The flax is homegrown and is processed and woven locally.

Thanks to those 100% natural fibers, the hull of the OCEAN 7 weighs only 490 kg, as opposed to the 1 ton of a traditional speedboat. Another big difference: typical fiberglass boats are hugely polluting, while the OCEAN 7 takes 1 ton of CO2 out of the air thanks to the flax plants.

Yoni De Munter (22), founder of ECO2boats

"Industrial ships are being greened at a rapid pace, but in pleasure boating this is much less the case. In the EU alone there are more than 5.5 million fiberglass boats and 99% end up in landfills or at the bottom of the sea. With the launch of the first 100% natural and circular speedboat we want to change this", says Yoni De Munter, founder of ECO2boats.

100% circular

The speedboat of ECO2boats is not only as safe and robust as a traditional speedboat, but also 100% circular. ECO2boats buys back old boats, grinds the composite and remelts it into new applications such as the seat or table. And thanks to the specially developed epoxy glue, the OCEAN 7 will, in the future, even be reduced to fertilizer for nature after a life cycle of minimal 50 years.

Across the Channel

To fund the prototype of its circular speedboat, ECO2boats launched a crowdfunding campaign. The goal is to raise 40,000 euros. In addition, ECO2boats is betting on WinWin loans through PMV/z. For the materials of the OCEAN 7 ECO2boats can count on the support of Flaxco weaving mill in Roeselare (flax), Basaltex in Wevelgem (basalt) and Timeout (epoxy).

After extensive testing, the revolutionary speedboat will be presented to the general public in the fall of 2021. And in 2022 the start-up wants to cross the Channel with the world's first ecological speedboat.

Technical specs

ECO2boats' speedboats can be combined with any type of engine: from an outboard to a V8 and Jet, and of course electric motors.

More information at:

eco2boats.com/Press-releases

www.instagram.com/eco2boats

Yoni De Munter