Sustainability in the yachting industry is no longer defined by bold promises or concept-stage ideas. It is increasingly measured, verified and, crucially, operational. The announcement that Nanni Industries has joined the Superyacht Eco Association (SEA) Index® as an official Ally signals a shift in how the sector approaches environmental progress as a present-day standard.
What is the SEA Index®?
Established by the Yacht Club de Monaco and Credit Suisse (UBS Group), the SEA Index® has become the most credible benchmarking tool for sustainable practises in yachting. It provides a transparent framework for assessing the environmental impact of superyachts over 24 metres and has recently expanded its scope to cover those starting from 10 metres, Using a third-party certified and scientific methodology, the SEA Index® toolkit assesses both CO₂ and Air Quality with key pollutants (NOx and PM) for a broader greenhouse gas picture of a vessel’s impact. But beyond the data, its influence lies in its ability to connect stakeholders - owners, captains, shipyards and suppliers - around a shared goal: reducing environmental impact without compromising performance.
As Michele Insom, director of marketing and aftermarket business at Nanni, explains: “A yacht rated three stars or higher under the SEA Index® can enjoy several advantages - firstly in terms of consumption, but also in terms of securing privileged spaces in marinas and moorings in the SEA Index®’s partner marinas, extending from the Mediterranean coast to the Seychelles, the Caribbean and Japan, because the yacht has improved its emissions and noise levels, among other factors.”
Why Nanni’s alliance matters now
This is where Nanni’s role becomes particularly significant. By becoming an official SEA Index® Ally, the company is positioning its generator technologies as enablers of certification. In other words, they form part of a practical pathway for yachts aiming to meet SEA Index® criteria.
Bernard d’Alessandri, SEA Index Superyacht Eco Association President and General Secretary of the Yacht Club de Monaco, frames it as part of a broader transformation: “Welcoming Nanni as a SEA Index® Ally further reinforces our collective capacity to drive meaningful and lasting transformation within the yachting industry. Innovation is no longer confined to engine manufacturers. It is now reaching equipment specialists, including generator makers such as Nanni, which is a clear sign that sustainability is permeating every layer of the maritime supply chain.”
Generators as enablers of certification
At the heart of this shift is Nanni’s superyacht generator range, spanning 45 to 125 kilowatts and designed for yachts up to 60 metres. What distinguishes these systems is a suite of interconnected innovations that address emissions, efficiency and onboard experience simultaneously.
Fuel flexibility is perhaps the most immediate lever. Nanni’s generators are compatible with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a renewable diesel alternative that can significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions. “For HVO, not much change is required to the engine because we are replacing diesel with a fuel that is quite similar,” says Insom.
Alongside HVO, Nanni is advancing a dual fuel system that combines diesel with methanol - a fuel gaining traction across commercial shipping and increasingly within yachting. Methanol combustion produces lower nitrogen oxide emissions and, when sourced sustainably, offers a pathway to substantial carbon reductions. “Superyachts need a lot of energy and there's an expectation that they're always functioning, so while a thermal diesel engine is still the most reliable solution, this dual fuel technology offers the same reliability as a diesel engine but with a fuel that reduces emissions by 70 per cent,” Insom explains.
As part of the Life Mystic project, Sanlorenzo initiated and led the development of an innovative Dual-Fuel generator, aiming to accelerate the adoption of low-impact technologies in the yachting sector and to contribute concretely to the decarbonization pathway.
Onboard comfort remains equally critical, particularly when it comes to noise and vibration. Nanni’s soundless cabin technology addresses this directly, reducing generator noise by up to 10 decibels below market standards. The system combines advanced acoustic insulation materials with optimised airflow management, tackling both sound transmission and mechanical resonance.
Its real-world impact has already been demonstrated through collaborations with leading shipyards. The technology was tested in 2024 during the refit of a Sanlorenzo and is now available in the series production at Sanlorenzo, Cantiere delle Marche and Benetti. “We conducted the successful first trial of the soundless cabin on the Sanlorenzo 72, and we are achieving the same results on the new units we are supplying,” Insom notes. “We are quite proud of this technology - we launched it two years ago and now we are receiving real feedback from the market.”
Perhaps the most forward-looking element of Nanni’s offering lies in its battery energy storage systems. These are not conventional battery packs, but intelligent systems equipped with an integrated energy management control unit. Known as Nanni BESS, the technology dynamically manages power generation and consumption across the yacht.
“This kind of battery pack is already being used to provide energy for large events like festivals and the Olympics, where local energy supply is insufficient. What we are doing is applying this technology to the marine industry,” says Insom. Unlike traditional setups where generators run continuously to meet demand, the system calculates energy requirements in real time, determining when generators should operate at full capacity, run at partial load, or switch off entirely. It can even coordinate multiple generators, optimising their usage to reduce fuel consumption, wear and maintenance.
For Gregorio Passani, chief business officer and general manager at Nanni, the partnership represents a broader philosophy: “Joining the SEA Index® program represents an important milestone for Nanni. We believe that technological innovation must translate into measurable environmental progress, and the SEA Index® provides the scientific and operational framework needed to make this transition real. Through this partnership, we aim to provide yacht owners, captains and shipyards with effective and scalable solutions that elevate the standards of clean and responsible yachting.”
By lowering emissions, improving energy efficiency and reducing noise pollution, these technologies collectively support the measurable and third-party certified criteria on which the SEA Index® is based. More importantly, they offer a scalable solution that can be applied across both new builds and refit projects.
To find out more information about how a generator could make your yacht SEA Index®-compliant, get in touch with Nanni Industries directly.
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