The business of sport: E1 boss on making boat racing more sustainable

The world's first electric boat racing championship, the UIM E1 World Championship, recently concluded its fifth race at Lake Como, in Italy. Actor Will Smith was there to see his team - Westbrook Racing - secure its first win on the final day of the event.

Previous race locations for the maiden season of the championship have included Jeddah, Venice, Puerto Banús and Monaco. 

Apart from Smith, the championship has a star-studded roster of team owners including the NFL's Tom Brady, the Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli, artist Marc Anthony, footballer Didier Drogba and the tennis champion Rafael Nadal. DJ Steve Aoki and Grand Prix racer Sergio Perez also own a team, along with the chief executive of Claure Group, Marcelo Claure. 

Although celebrity team owners have been seen in several sports leagues and championships in the last few years, the E1 championship could potentially be driving the rise of a new investment class: the sustainable luxury sports category. 

How did the idea for the E1 championship come about?

The idea for the E1 championship was born during COVID-19. The chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of E1, Rodi Basso, teamed up with Alejandro Agag, E1's chairman and co-founder. While Basso came up with the idea of a ‘Formula E on water’ style championship, Agag offered the investment required for boats with electric propulsion and foils. 

According to Basso, the E1 championship focuses on ‘innovating by cross-fertilisation’. He told Euronews: “From a cultural and technology standpoint, we wanted the championship to be the meeting place of powerboating, sailing and motorsport.”

Basso also revealed that he did not want to be backed by the brands that he had already worked for, like NASA, Formula One, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, but instead wanted to branch out into something new. 

He said: “I wanted to build a new brand and I combined my passion for water and coastal areas with my competence and network.”

Sophi Horne, the founder of SeaBird Technologies, is the designer of the RaceBird electric powerboats, which are being used in the championship. She revealed that the RaceBird design was inspired by birds in ‘glide mode’, which is when they fly very close to the surface of water. 

How is E1 making boat racing more sustainable?

One of the main ways that E1 is making boat racing more sustainable is by consistently innovating and developing the RaceBird’s design. At the moment, the Race Bird is zero-emission, as well as silent, so it does not create any waves in the water. 

As such, things like the boat propeller systems and powertrains are being constantly developed to make them more efficient. 

Professor Carlos Duarte, E1’s chief scientist, said: “So we documented that the Race Birds are 50 times quieter in terms of noise generation than a similar powered combustion engine boat.” This is especially important as the impact of marine transport noise can be significant on aquatic life. 

Along with the actual races, E1 is also focusing on improving and maintaining the health of the aquatic bodies and ecosystems in the cities where the races take place. This includes lakes, oceans and waterways like the canals in Venice. 

In Lake Como’s case, the lake is also a source of drinking water for the surrounding area, so maintaining the water quality is high on E1’s agenda. So E1’s main impact on Lake Como, apart from electrifying aquatic mobility, has also been to help remove excess nutrient input in the lake, as well as organic input and gasoline residues. 

Professor Duarte highlights that one of the most significant pollutants in the lake, apart from oil, is caffeine from wastewater, which is actually a stimulant for aquatic life, as well as humans. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories are also some of the highest polluting substances. 

Another way the E1 championship is focusing on sustainability is through its recently launched Blue Impact Programme. This includes the E1 Blue Impact Championship, which is a race in itself, in which the current teams work with cities hosting the races, scientists, NGOs and other partners. Their aim is to come up with solutions for coastal habitat and aquatic ecosystem problems. 

This includes support for aquatic restoration and conservation programmes, as well as technological and research support. It also offers financial resources to solve these issues and acts as mediator to bring different, often conflicting players. round the table to come up with solutions. 

The winning team will be crowned the Blue Impact Champion, which will be decided through fan and expert jury votes. 

Team Westbrook, owned by Will Smith, has already announced its initiative to focus on rivers and waterways, which will include an ultra marathon, called Running for Water. This will be to race from source to ocean, with a goal of 20 rivers at present. 

Similarly, Team Rafa will be focusing on the Mediterranean coastal ecosystems, especially on sea grass varieties like Posidonia, which is the longest-lived organism in this biosphere.

Team Brazil will be looking at sustainable fuel, for sustainable mobility in the water, as well as for planes. For this, they will be relying on Brazil’s leadership in this subject, as 96% of the country’s power already comes from biofuels. They are also focusing on sustainable ways of producing lithium.

In addition, they will look at coral conservation in the Amazon, and raise awareness about the importance of the Amazon river, especially for the surrounding ecosystems and populations. 

Why are people investing in the championship?

The E1 championship has seen a lot of interest from investors in its maiden season, mainly because of its deep focus on sustainability and ecosystem conservation. 

This is in line with the increasing trend of sustainable investment over the last few years. According to a recent study by Deloitte and the Fletcher School at Tufts University, some 79% of worldwide investors now have a sustainable investment policy in place. This is a major increase from some 20% five years ago. 

Professor Duarte said: “Big companies that are in conversations with us for sponsoring the sport, are far more interested in the sustainability and environmental action side, than on the race itself. So you don’t really have to convince them, they actually come because of this. They want to be meaningful themselves, and they want to be attached to meaningful activities.”

E1 is also a signatory of the Sports for Climate Action framework, which commits to sports with a positive climate action. It is also the inaugural signatory of the Sports for Nature framework, which commits to sports with a positive impact on biodiversity. 

Besides this, it has also partnered with worldwide coral reef research and development programmes, as well as with organisations like Oceans 2050, which are delivering a positive impact on both oceans and waterways. 

These actions have demonstrated E1’s commitment to both sustainability and conservation, and also boosted investor confidence.

E1’s roster of celebrity owners has also drawn a lot of media and investment attention, which has resulted in many partners, as well as business-to-business interactions at the races themselves. This, in turn, has resulted in significant awareness on a global stage about the championship and its initiatives, adding to investor interest. 

Another key reason for investor interest is because the championship promotes gender equality by making sure each team has one male and one female pilot. As such, it is one of the few sports worldwide offering a level playing field for both male and female athletes on the boats. 

E1 pioneers gender equality in sports

The E1 championship has provided a key platform for several inspirational female athletes like Anna Glennon, one of the pilots on Team Miami. She is a jet ski world champion and an eight-time US and Canadian national champion. She also builds her equipment herself, in-house, with her father, having built her first jet ski engine at 14 years old. 

Regarding her experience in the E1 championship so far, she told Euronews: “It will sound silly, but so far, being a part of the E1 Series has been a dream! I grew up loving powerboats and powerboat racing with my dad, but we never had the means to participate. Racing electric power boats around the world is a piece of a childhood dream for me.

“E1 Series is unlike anything in the world, and has presented a fun challenge - but as a jet skier I still feel at home out on the water. And I think most importantly, the awareness that E1 works to bring to protecting our water is something very close to my heart. I would not be the person I am today had I not been raised around the lake growing up! I'm proud to be a part of something that has the means to reach millions of people with that message.”

Mashael Al Obaidan, one of Team Aoki’s pilots and the first Saudi Arabian female rally driver, said: “Racing for E1 is exciting. The thrill of flying the innovative Race Bird on various water conditions while pushing for a win is unmatched.

“In the championship, the competition is fierce, with each race testing skill, strategy, teamwork and the ability to adapt to changing water conditions. Understanding the water language, learning fast to match experienced water racers and knowing the Race Birds limits are key challenges.

“My journey inspires women to pursue their passion for sports just as other Saudi women in various sports inspire me. From rallying to water racing, the messages, calls, and conversations with people I meet about how my pursuit of passion inspires them evoke a unique feeling that fuels my continuous drive. These encounters have enriched me with countless remarkable stories.”

Future scope and challenges of the E1 championship

Coming to the future of the championship, Basso revealed that he would be interested in moving towards the West, for more race locations in the next season, given the amount of interest being seen within teams, from cities and increased media attention. This would include the US, central and south America. 

He said: “As a championship, in 5 years, I would like to have 15 races, five in Asia, five between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and five between North and South America. Next year, I strongly believe we will reach the maximum number of teams, which is 12 at the moment.”

Regarding the challenges faced so far, Basso revealed that there were plenty. He said: “First of all, in terms of the boat development, we had to put together the first prototype and validate the speed and the structural parts in nine months, according to our agreement with the investor. This was because the investment was split into tranches and the second tranche was subject to the validation of the first prototype. 

“So this was a race in the race. So the concept was at that point validated. When we started putting mileage on parts, we discovered that the first version of the foils was not enough to withstand the kind of load that we wanted to withstand because of the race nature of the competition and the race nature of the boat. 

“And so we had to redesign the foil concept and architecture and revalidate the system completely, through Victory Marine, and this was very close to when we had to race.”

However, he also says that the outcome was very positive, even in harsh water conditions like Monaco. 

Basso continued: “Other challenges are typical challenges of any business. When you go and pitch to any media, they ask you what your media reach is - but this is the reason why you pitch to them. 

“Also building the team itself. It is not easy at all to find the right professionals, with the right willingness and the alignment to the vision. I think the people I have around me today are incredibly passionate about our mission and what we are trying to achieve, and there is no push needed for the extra hour or the extra effort to achieve our targets. I would not underestimate this point- building the right team.”