Superyacht Power Secrets

From a napkin sketch once dismissed as “too small to be real” to a must-have system on modern superyachts, Alessandro Ciolfi of Asea Nautica joins host, Kristina Hebert, at the Palm Beach Boat Show to discuss the future of shore power, energy storage, and yacht electrification. 

This Wards Way Podcast episode explores the technology shaping global cruising — and where superyacht power systems are headed next.

Wards Marine Electric
https://www.wardsmarine.com/

Wards Way YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@WardsWay75

Transcript

Welcome From Palm Beach Boat Show

SPEAKER_03 0:03

Welcome to the Wards Women today with my good friend with AC Not so welcome. Welcome to the Wards Women and welcome the Wednesday. I feel like we've talked for several shows about doing this, and we finally were able to accomplish this. We've we've worked together for many years, so thank you for taking the time and being here. And welcome to the Palm Beach Boat Show.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Thank you very much. And thank you very much to be here with you.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Absolutely. So we we were chatting before we we we started this, and I and I I I I want to continue the conversation. So

How A Synautica Started In Italy

SPEAKER_03 0:38

tell me how you started A Synautica and how your business got started and where you're located. And so you're located in Italy.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

We are located in Italy. Why we started Asynautica? Okay. The founders of A Synautica were me and Pietro, that perhaps you know, of course, since a lot of both showed together. And uh Pietro was manager of an Italian company that was included in Thermovoltica Corporation. And two of the companies inside the Thermovoltica Corporation was managed by Mark Woodward and Russ Single. It was before the setup of AC Power Systems, of course.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

There was a time, I don't remember if it was 1999, 2000, Pietro met Russ in Europe and Russ was uh we're telling him that he founded the Woodmark company and he asked to Pietro the help to show a C power systems company in Italy because Italy you know is the main I think Italy has been number one in uh builder output of yachts for for more than 20 years.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yes, I think that Italy covers something like 65% of the building. So Russ asked to Pietro his help. Pietro knew me because uh I was working with Pietro in Italian Navy Market. So there was a day in Porto Venere that is a very nice place near La Spezza. We were having uh coffee and drink. And Pietro I remember that unfortunately we get this paper inside the trash because we didn't know that it was a starting, of course. But Pietro told me about AC power systems, about short power connection, about the frequency converters, etc. And I replied to Pietro, Pietro for me hertz rent a car. I don't know what it is a frequency conversion. And I remember that Pietro drove in a if I say Kleenex you understand?

SPEAKER_03 3:23

Yeah, okay, like a napkin.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Uh in a Kleenex uh frequency conversion, so a boat, a dock, uh cable, something like that. And he said, okay, I will ask. And start with AC Power Systems uh in Italy.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Because I started to ask, and when uh I arrived with at that time we had not emails, we received faxes, etc. I remember I went into the yards with uh the data sheet of AC power systems with those uh characteristics, dimension, weights, etc. Everybody said it is fake, don't come here anymore.

SPEAKER_03 4:09

Really? And why do you think that was? Because it was just uh because of the technologies?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

No, because because uh because the impression uh was that it was incredible. It was not possible to have uh 100 KVA in uh you know very small very small box. It was 2000. Now we are 26, so technology was different. And we started we started with of course the main boat builder. Uh the first that uh believed in uh in us was Benetti. The first uh yacht that uh AC Power supplied to Benetti has been uh BC first series 09. So of course maybe you don't know all the Benetti Yachts, of course, but it is a that's a very low number. So if you knew the numbers you would know that that's imagine that the first series, I don't know, but probably they built uh something like 40 yachts, and after that they started the Benetti Classic second series, and so a lot of and it seems like this timeline would be so much longer than only 25 years ago.

SPEAKER_03 5:29

You're you you know we're you're we're talking about something that's fairly recent.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Yes, it seems uh yes then. Right, it absolutely you are right, because uh uh in the business, in the life, let me say, there are some steps that you cannot forget. And this was uh one step because uh we started a business that today is still one of the most important businesses that there is in the yacht. Imagine that the the very small acinautica, and today is more because today we are 10. Uh we we drew a market with our activity, our our activity. Now we have uh, and you know of course, uh something like uh eight, ten competitors, very aggressive competitors in the market because what we did. We gave to the market the possibility to work on the frequency converters. When we started the frequency converters was uh let me say like a piece of wood in an eye. And now a frequency converter is uh something that it is requested on board, and it is, it is, even because we did a good job. We in Italy, you of course, in uh in the docks in Florida, and it has been a step that I cannot forget coming back to your casting.

Partnership Over Competition In Service

SPEAKER_03 7:11

But I I think that um one of the parts that I appreciate about our relationship is that we don't really view each other as competitors, we view each other as um, I see it almost as uh bookends that the boats are gonna come to you and the boats are gonna be over here, and that while we um offer and support similar equipment, we jointly want to work together to make sure that these boats have what they need, that they have support over here. So if you're putting that boat in in the build process with the manufacturer and that Benetti happens to come over here, or perhaps could even be at the show, that you know that we wanted to build a relationship with your company because we have very similar values and core values, that you could rely on us and we could rely on you, and we can we can work together and and try to narrow that communication just to make sure that the customers are satisfied.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

This is one of the best uh feature that has the yakting. Uh who works in the yakting and uh who likes the yacking knows that uh the the first goal it is to have the final client satisfaction. Reason why if we work in Italy and you work in Florida, so of course the other side of the of the of the world, we we work for the same uh for the same uh object. So to arrive to the customer satisfaction. Um this is what I think even for our competitors. I I usually uh I usually think that uh to understand what competitors do is uh competitors do it has been an error, sorry.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Your English is far better than my Italian.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Not true. Thank you, but not very true.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

Very, very much true.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Uh it is to understand what competitors do, it is uh uh it is a way to grow up. Because uh no nobody is perfect. We are not perfect. I'm sorry, you are not perfect.

SPEAKER_03 9:25

I am not.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Okay, and uh uh to understand that the market it is very, very important. The reason why we are very happy, very satisfied to work together with the companies uh like yourself.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

I I and I think that it it goes to again the core values that we value um the client's satisfaction with the product. We we we value that no matter where they are, that they if they're if they're happy and we can take care of them on both sides of the world, our our customers travel, so they they have that opportunity.

Beyond Converters Into Energy Systems

SPEAKER_03 10:00

What um you you talked about how your company's grown to 10. What what made it what made it grow? Is it because you are dealing with so many more manufacturers in in Italy? So the the growth and being able to accommodate that?

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Um we we are growing because uh over then frequency converters we are working even for other uh type of business uh in the yachting. And uh over the frequency converters, we years ago we introduced the electrical consultancies, and of course it is uh an important uh let me say line of line of business inside Asynautica that is giving us a lot of business. Um and we are we started some years ago, let me say less than 10 energy storage and energy management that is giving us a lot of satisfaction. We work uh in lithium batteries hotel mode, uh we work in energy management with a different with a lot of uh energy management suppliers, Victron, because we are even Navico Masterwald. We will talk about Navico later maybe uh Xantrix, why not? Because MCE family. And uh since uh three years we understand from an Italian company that is not a supplier of the yachting, and this is another particularity of Asynautica. We search technology outside of the yachting market, and with this company we uh studied and we are supplying a three-phase inverter for uh energy storage. So until uh now let me let me go just a little bit. No, I I want to hear it in a technical uh aspect. Uh when you supply a lithium batteries uh bank you have about uh 90 kilowatt to uh to manage because it is let me say the energy uh of around a yacht of 40 meters. And uh you in the past you will be able to uh manage this energy uh with uh true uh with uh uh three uh uh uh Victron 4 15 kVA uh machines at each bank. They are single phase, so you need to install six machines, etc. We studied with an Italian company uh 50 kilowatt uh three-phase inverter. So this is another step of a synautica. We started to have our products. That is one is one is uh the Lodley, this is the brand name we gave to the three-phase inverter, and with the opportunity that AzyMut gave us we studied a shaft generator for yakts, let me say around 40-45 meters, shaft generators for yakt in uh uh standard propulsion, so not hybrid propulsion, and uh it will be supplied on the first 44 meters of ADZIMUT. I can say that because it is not more covered by uh NDA because Azimut uh showed the mild hybrid to the to the market a couple of years ago here in Palvridge. Uh so now we we are as I said uh earlier, we are no more simply distributors, but we have two products that we asked the two Italian companies that they are not inside the yachting to design for us.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

What I like hearing though is that you have, you know, it would have been very easy for you to be able to just stay in this path given that you're in the country that's building the most amount of yachts, given that you are the one that really brought the frequency conversion to the market. But I love that you're still working and innovating and coming up with other solutions, and I think that that's important in order to evolve and continue, and that's the key to your growth, that you need to continue to have those solutions.

Electrification Trends And Market Demands

SPEAKER_00 14:32

Yes, we we believe in electrification because of what uh let me say it's not a secret. It is something that is uh in the mouth of everybody. Probably in 50 years, 60 years, our nephews will have nuclear. It's something that it is the life. What we are doing now in Synautica, of course, we are not alone with the name of Builder that they believe in our research RD. What we are doing is to try to arrive to this technology passing through technologies that are crossing technologies. Let me say lithium is one of those. Now it is uh at this moment it is probably the best technology to have energy storage uh at with this ratio uh volume energy. But of course we know that when nuclear will arrive, lithium will be nothing. It's interesting. We need that to arrive to nuclear.

SPEAKER_03 15:44

But what I think is also wonderful is that you do have some builders. I I went to a uh Benetti uh presentation Wednesday at this show and and talking um about the Vinios in the US here at the Palm Beach Boat Show, and they were talking about the significance of the American market. Do you feel that you develop any of your technology specific for the American buyer?

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Of course, American market um affects our business because of frequency conversion. This is correct. It is not uh the other technology that we are introducing and we are improving in the market, uh it depends how American markets will ask for. Of course, we don't know. We are not able to understand the American market, we don't live here. Reason why we have a very good relationship with you. To understand better which is which is the difference of the request from European and American market in terms of let me say energy storage. For example, we understand in the last years that in US you like a lot of generators instead of batteries. Okay, it is uh it is something that uh it is a request. So uh but for sure there will be even from this market when we start to grow up again. Uh we are sure that will arrive will arrive a request for this type of business that there will be they will have some differences between Europe, there will be some differences between Europe and the US. We don't know, of course, we don't know US clients. Uh we are sure that uh our main clients, the main boat builders, uh they know they are doing the study of the market and they will understand what uh they will be able to ask us.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

In fact, um a guest I had on earlier was um the new executive director of CBAS and um obviously uh Robert Van Tong. Okay, and he um was talking about how CBAS, the Super Yacht Builders Association, of which um as Benetti are clearly members of, and um and they were talking about the the economic impact study that they've done and also research study that's been done, but also discussions about sustainability and discussions about trends. And and what I'm what I'm finding is that we really need to have instead of um which you and I have been doing for years, our two businesses, but there needs to be a lot more global discussion on this, not a European perspective versus US. Obviously, we there are there are different um owners and different cultures and different working, but it's one yachting and and trying to have some of those discussions and working with builders collectively to to develop some standards and some some protocols. I find it um to be interesting that those discussions are even being had here, and I know that they're being had over in Europe as well.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Uh important, but to arrive to that we need to understand which we which is the request. So the main uh group of uh clients, what do they want? We don't know. And probably in this moment uh even CBAS doesn't know that.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Well, and and you know the the the buyers and owners of yachts are changing. They're younger, they're wanting to use their yachts differently. Either they're getting younger or we're getting older.

SPEAKER_00 19:45

I'm not sure, but different uh different uh different requests of energy. Yes, yes in this in the same in the same volume of a yacht, the same length of a yacht, now the request of energy is huge compared to 10 years ago. Absolutely. Because uh the the type of clients now it is different. Completely different.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

And you know what, in 10 years it'll be completely different again, and that's the wonderful part about this industry.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

Yes, and the next 10 years will be completely different again, and we don't know. I agree. We don't know what what a company and uh a Synautica Synautica is able to do that because we are small, so we are able to change type of business in relatively small small small quantity of time, of course. Uh this is what yachting needs to understand. What yachting needs to do to receive uh to receive from the main market request and to understand from our from other markets what there is. Because we know yachting is a very small market, even if it moves a lot of money, but it is a very small market. Other markets they move a lot of technology. Imagine the technology that is uh uh is arriving to us from automotive aerospace, probably thinks we don't know and now they are old for them. Correct. And we are we we we don't know. We don't know simply because we don't know those markets. This is why I'm happy to have people that works in Sinautica that already knows the other markets. Pietro, we talked about uh so the founder with me works in aerospace, in the uh rail, rails, etc. So he knows other technologies already. So when we spoke, when we speak, he says, Ale, it is easy.

SPEAKER_03 21:51

There is you have not to find the is wow, that is an interesting perspective, and I think that does give you an advantage that you can. be rest assured that this this research and all of this has already been done. Yes but what is uh what is uh um not easy not immediately easy it is to understand the request because a request in the market cannot be the request of a yacht because a yacht is uh one on 100 000 the request of the market it is uh a market verification from the main bot builder so that they need that to do a filter and to understand what is really what the market requests so one question that I know that that uh you know our subscribers would would want to hear about how has it been has the tariff been a challenge for the Italian market with the US market or do you feel that it's something nobody called me about it and nobody called you about it we just have to deal with it and we move on it is different uh it is of course uh inside the yachting but it is a different approach here each yakta is a client here each yakta has his needs his problems uh the to fix a problem it is different in a yacht maybe the same problem it is to be fixed in a way in a yakt in another way in another yakt because they are two different clients two different approaches two different peoples completely different um in Italy the challenge it is different of course it is the main country where there are the main boat builders as we said earlier it is uh probably 65% of the production of building in the world um they they work a lot of in RB so the challenge it is uh to be able to stay behind there to stay behind them so to understand what they want to give them uh replies and it is not easy because you're right we're looking at it um the United States is not we're looking at it at an individual boat level obviously the US is behind the the market specifically the Italian market in building we are more on the refit side or the repair side when the vessels are coming this way and so you're correct our our perspective is a little bit different it's correcting that yacht that problem not necessarily from a systemic approach it is not a system there is a boat there is a client it is a request and the probably the same problem in another yacht uh is requested to you in a in a different way a hundred percent a hundred percent of course in Italy no in Italy imagine you have uh I don't know of course I do but I I think that Azi Mutto Benetti they have uh 3000 people as manpower plus all the um companies that sell manpower to them so it is huge it is incredible so you can imagine uh how it is how is difficult that this requested this request can be addressed in the same way for the same for the same goal so it's very very very difficult I wouldn't be in dail for one other question so I I was thinking um you know we've been talking about AC Power Systems and their parent company Mission Critical uh it's obviously fairly public knowledge now that AC Power System Mission Critical acquired Magnus Marine has that impacted your business for for us um you know we were able to to work with them on a solution for their dockside frequency converters and I I feel that the collaboration of the two businesses produced a superior product and ironically in speaking with both of them I I always tell everybody that we had friendly competition but um that that now when you take the the top two manufacturers and you put them together it it at times does create you know a challenge but I think in this case they've created a superior product.

Magnus Acquisition And Better Solutions

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Have you have you been able to work as much with the Magnus or do you think that that will translate over to Italy or will that just take some time?

SPEAKER_00 26:36

We didn't know Magnus in the past as we have started to know Matthew now. We felt it was a competitor but was not a competitor for us inside the main boat builder now that we knew Matthew we understand why we understood why Matthew is a great technical man. Matthew okay of course for people that does know Matthew Matthew is the former managing director is the for is the former owner of Magnus and now he's managing director of Magnus owned by MC Matthew is a great a great technical man he he loves his business it's incredible reason why he was not able to be introduced inside the yards he worked a lot of with yachts because each project he was on board today I understood from Joe that he was not here because he was he is on board of a yard because it for him each thing to do it is to see personally so he was not able to work to work with the yards because alone was not able it is not possible to work in a yard of 3000 people you can imagine but now we have been able to know him he's a very deep businessman very deep technical man he knows very well his product and coming back to your question it is the possibility to improve the business of AC power not only for the frequency converters because uh Manius gives to MC the possibility to uh arrive to the parallel hybrid propulsion something that we are already starting to propose in tech so that's going to be beneficial to your business and they're also yes in the um the stored energy space matthew has uh also systems of ESS so managing uh energy management systems and uh Matthew has uh as a supplier one of the company for which we work for in Italy that is MG MG batteries it is an older company an all and company and Matthew already buys from there so it is the possibility to uh strength is the relationship between MCE and MG to to enlarge our uh demand to the to the Italian yatima I smile because we talk about all of those players that you just said between MCE and Matthew and Magnus and and even wards and your business and you're talking about a manufacturer in the UK a a manufacturer in and the west coast of yes on the west coast of the US your business in Italy the battery company in Holland and yet we all talk as if we are sitting on the couch and we all have that relationship that we could.

SPEAKER_03 30:12

It means that we live here, you there yes because it can it's very much the case but what I I think it's a perfect example and symbolic of our industry that we really are a at one small world and that this industry brings all of us together from all over that we can collaborate and work together and make these projects and we are just five people who happen to be from five different places in the world but you can come together for a solution for builders or for that one yacht.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

I I find that very I don't know that that happens in other industries. I think that's very unique to the marine

Family Business Pride And Closing Plans

SPEAKER_03 30:49

industry. It is it is it is uh because it is yachting so as we said uh before it is a small business small small market let me say uh but with a very we are everybody we are focused to the c to the final client satisfaction so we so we hear about his needs and we understand what what what what we can do and what uh what we can give to the market and when when people when people that everybody knows that each other uh has his position in the yacht and we love to speak together because everybody we are focused uh to the same uh I have a theory and I'm wondering if if you would agree do you think it has to do with that we're family businesses in some cases even when you look at Benetti you look at AC Nautica you look at Magnus you look at Ward's mission critical is different but it it their founders were you know a little bit they they weren't necessarily family but they were together but do you do you think that that maybe plays a role in that there's uh probably yes because uh because uh this business is so nice and you like to talk about even at all because it is nice to speak about this business and so uh me too I have three boys the middle one uh uh didn't decide to study and since one year uh he started uh to work in that business wonderful I I too my uh my uh younger son is um going to be uh joining our team uh he's worked for me in some summers but uh he's uh expanding for us in uh savannah so he will be opening for us to to handle some of the refit market up there and be able to to to handle the east coast of the United States so family fourth generation will will be there um but you know it's interesting I've been but it means that we are becoming gold unfortunately we're not becoming we've landed but but I think old is the state of mind and and I do think that um you know having the history of being in the industry and I know for my family um I started doing this because uh I wanted to create a video log of memories and uh being 75 years old but one of the things we were talking about um kind of as a global industry and conversation yesterday was learning from Europe how to develop generations of business and and having that and and I don't know if you can impart on that that one of the things that you see specifically in Italy is generations and generations and generations of and pride and and and the being a part of that I've been to a yacht launch and every hand is is it has a handshake whether you were the carpenter the plumber the electrician uh the fiberglass the carbon fiber whatever it was the welder um and that pride yes how do we do that how do we it it is a it is a it is a trust between people because uh we work for the same uh for the same uh business even if uh some sometimes we are competitors not not us but with with the competitors sure anyway we know that everybody works for the same focus and uh uh the reason why there is uh this pride it is uh seems a family business I agree well it has been an absolute pleasure sitting here with you we finally had an opportunity to talk I look forward to our next dinner and that's another thing we should we should share that I think that was one of my most favorite boat shows is when we all got together and we shared a meal. No I no my favorite boat show is that when we all got together and and had a very big meal our companies and all competitors do you remember that all the in Fort Lauderdale we had it at my business and we we did a a pig roast ah yeah yes at the barbecue yeah the barbecue yes fantastic and um it was interesting we were all competitors in theory yes but we were able to sit as family and I I think that we need to do that again. So but I think we should do it in Italy.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

The barbecue in Italy so we'll we'll we announce it here we'll let you know it won't be a barbecue I'm teasing we we don't have these uh we are not able to do the barbecues as you absolutely not but you could outdo us we we we'll we we love restaurants we love uh of course but please we will break bread don't don't don't don't ask to us to do a barbecue no barbecue but how about a meal your choice however we do it when will you be in Italy again?

SPEAKER_03 36:02

Uh this year okay we will do it we will do it this year and plan it out okay but thank you Alessandro I appreciate your time and I hope you have a wonderful show and a wonderful year and I look forward to talking to you soon.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

Thank you thanks for joining us make sure you subscribe to the Wards Wave podcast we're just getting started