From Monaco, they dreamed of building the first 100% electric boat, eco-responsible in its design, using renewable and high-end materials. They did it. François Richard and Marc Ronet co-founded the Lanéva company in the Principality in 2019, now housed within Monacoboost. Their first model, the Vesper, zero CO2 emissions, was launched and marketed from 2021. The Lanéva team has taken the subject of durability even further with a retrofit kit, to equip existing boats. Even exceptional pieces like those of the Riva® brand.
Vintage durable
They have signed a partnership with the Italian Bellini Nautica, specialized for more than 60 years in the restoration and trade of vintage boats of the emblematic Riva® brand. These very chic boats in wood, mahogany and leather that we see in some blockbusters like James Bond. You see? “If our initial idea was to design and market a 100% electric and durable boat, we came up once morest a clientele interested in the electrification side, but who already owned a boat. We then created a sort of kit to make any type of boat electric.” And then came the time for the challenge. Tackle the Riva® legend, a luxury brand par excellence, some models of which have been manufactured in more than 800 copies. “We bought one in Italy, a 1961 model. We took out the engine, a V8 over 300 kilos, then everything related to the original propulsion. And we integrated our technology, at weight equivalent, without modifying the boat or its structure. Little pride of the team, exhibited at the Monaco Yacht Show last September. Since then, regarding forty requests have arrived.
Economic model
“There are owners who want to electrify the boat they already have and there are those who directly order a retrofitted boat.” Mean by that, a vintage boat including the electrical technology of Lanéva. For the first, it is not a question of receiving his kit and dismantling his engine alone at home, with two Allen keys, a hammer and instructions in 14 pages. “Each boat, especially parts like those of the Riva® brand, requires special maintenance which is generally done in the shipyard. These are the specialists who will receive and fit the kit on the owner’s boat.” This, following training provided by the Lanéva teams.
German engine, Austrian battery, Swiss charger, the elements of the Lanéva techno kits are largely European, assembled in France. The Monegasque company launched the first retrofit kit in 2022, with the support of the Prince’s Government and the Mission for Energy Transition (MTE). The first retrofitted boat is currently moored in the port of Monaco. It should be exhibited in other strategic places to develop the concept”especially in closed water bodies where the regulations are strict, where the electric arrives at the right time, silent and non-polluting.” Count 100,000 to 280,000 euros for the retrofit kit depending on the model of the boat and the power of the engine to be replaced.
Next challenge? Sail for brands other than Riva®, because the market is vast.
laneva-boats.com
