With less than three weeks to go, Australia’s maritime industry is being reminded that MERC’s Discover Maritime Futures conference will return to Sydney on Friday 18 September 2026, bringing together industry leaders to examine how electrification is likely to influence the vessels, infrastructure and people that will shape the sector in the years ahead.
Marine Business News is a supporter of MERC and believes the conversation is an important one for the broader marine industry. MERC is a charitable not-for-profit regional innovation cluster working to promote maritime decarbonisation and sustainability by bringing together organisations from across maritime, manufacturing, energy, finance, government and education.
Electrification will not provide the answer for every vessel or every operation, but the technologies, infrastructure requirements and workforce implications surrounding it, are increasingly relevant to businesses planning for the future.
Conferences such as Discover Maritime Futures provide an opportunity to move beyond the headlines and consider what these changes may mean in practice.
Just as importantly, they allow industry participants to compare experiences, connect with colleagues and suppliers, and build the knowledge needed to make better-informed business decisions as new technologies mature.
The half-day conference will be held at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, from 8:00am to 1:30pm and will focus on three themes: Future Boats, Future Wharves and Future Crew.
Following registration and coffee from 8:00am, formal proceedings begin at 8:30am, with an Australian Government address followed by the keynote presentation from Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker, Managing Director of the Netherlands-based Maritime Battery Forum. His presentation will examine the global maritime electrification landscape, where battery technology currently sits and how the next stage of market development may unfold.
The first panel, Future Boats, will consider the future of vessel design in an electrified maritime environment, with Paul Bury of Bury Design, Fiona Bycroft of Naut and Mattijs Willenborg of Fibre Boats among the speakers.
After morning tea, Future Wharves will turn attention to the infrastructure required to support electrification. Speakers include Oliver Davey of Arup, Voltron Dwyer of Hullbot and Liz Yeaman of CharIN, bringing perspectives spanning engineering, technology and charging infrastructure.
The final panel, Future Crew, will examine the training, skills and recruitment implications for maritime businesses adopting electric technologies, with Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker joined by Adam Chanter of Marine Futures. Formal proceedings conclude at 12:30pm, followed by a one-hour networking lunch, an important part of the program for delegates wanting to continue the conversation and strengthen industry connections.
Discover Maritime Futures is being held alongside Everything Electric Sydney, which runs at Sydney Showground from 18 to 20 September.
Conference delegates receive a complimentary three-day pass to the show, valued at $60.
That provides access to a broader showcase of electrification and energy technology, including electric vehicle test drives, expert theatre sessions, home-energy displays, a micro-mobility test track, a commercial vehicle zone and a Marine Pavilion with MERC members exhibiting their electrification solutions.
General admission to Discover Maritime Futures is $275 including GST, with the conference taking place at Sydney Showground, 1 Showground Road, Sydney Olympic Park.
For marine businesses considering what electrification may mean for their products, operations, customers, infrastructure or workforce, Discover Maritime Futures represents a timely opportunity to hear from specialists, ask questions and connect with others facing many of the same decisions.
The transition will not happen in one step, nor will it look the same across every part of the maritime sector. But understanding where technology is heading and maintaining strong connections with those working at the forefront of change, will be increasingly important.
Discover Maritime Futures offers the industry a useful place to do both.
For more information about MERC visit their website HERE or to find out more about Discover Maritime Futures and to book your seat, visit the event website HERE
