The Elektra Marine joint venture has confirmed JOOOL as its dedicated brand for marine electrification solutions and appointed former automotive executive Philippe Hamon as president, as the partnership between Groupe Beneteau and Fountaine Pajot accelerates its push to electrify 10-15% of the global new sailboat fleet by 2030.
The developments were announced at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026, where the 50:50 venture also revealed an expanded roster of participating boat brands and shipyards.
Hamon brings around 30 years of automotive industry experience, including a career at Valeo focused on electrification, component standardisation and large-scale industrialisation.
"Given my experience in the automobile industry, I am convinced that standardisation and platform strategies make it possible to offer reliable energy management systems at competitive prices," Hamon said.
The JOOOL platform combines propulsion, energy storage, conversion and management with interfaces and services, designed to adapt across different boat sizes and uses. The technology builds on 28 years of experience in marine electrification, including over one million hours of operational data and 44 hybrid sailboats currently sailing across five continents.
"We're not starting from scratch," said Bruno Thivoyon, Groupe Beneteau chairman. "We're building on proven solutions to create a robust, standardised and scalable offering."
Eight brands are now participating: Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Lagoon Signature, EXCESS, Fountaine Pajot, Fountaine Pajot Yachts and Dufour. This covers four models from Groupe Beneteau and 10 from Groupe Fountaine Pajot. Three additional shipyards have also partnered with JOOOL: Leopard Catamaran, RM Yachts and Chantier de l'Arsenal.
Mathieu Fountaine, deputy CEO of Groupe Fountaine Pajot, said the venture aims to move beyond individual initiatives to help shape industry-wide standards. "The decarbonisation of boating will only be able to scale up if we are able to go beyond individual initiatives," he said.
The JOOOL platform supports both low- and high-voltage electrification configurations based on shared technical building blocks, with solutions available to partner shipyards beyond the two founding groups.
