Valor Econômico's highlight: Project JAQ

In another edition that highlights leaders and innovations in the economic sector, the renowned newspaper Valor Econômico interviewed the president of Grupo Náutica, Ernani Paciornik. The report, which became the cover of Monday's edition (3), discusses the JAQ Project, an ambitious initiative for the development of vessels powered by green hydrogen, which promises to revolutionize maritime transport worldwide and significantly reduce pollutant gas emissions.

The project, led by Itaipu Parquetec, a reference in sustainable fuel production in Brazil, and coordinated by Irineu Mário Colombo, better known as Professor Colombo, managing director of Itaipu Parquetec, has the partnership of JAQ Apoio Marítimo, a division of Grupo Náutica, and involves two vessels: Explorer H1 and Explorer H2.  The project also has support from GWM, a Chinese company that is providing all its technology for the development of green hydrogen.

The vessel Explorer H1, measuring 36 meters in length, is equipped with a hydrojet system (suitable for navigation in shallow waters) and will be presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2025 (COP30), in November, in Belém (PA). Currently, it is at the Inace shipyard in Fortaleza (CE).

Explorer H1. Photo: Disclosure

The Explorer H2, measuring 50 meters in length, is under development at the Arpoador Shipyard in Guarujá (SP), and will be dedicated to supporting diving operations and collecting hydrographic and oceanographic data. This vessel will use an engine manufactured by the brand MAN, imported from Germany, which works with both diesel and hydrogen. By using only 20% hydrogen, this vessel will already achieve an 80% reduction in its emissions. After the presentation of the Explorer H1, the second phase of the project will focus on the completion and delivery of the Explorer H2.

Photo: Valor Econômico from February 3, 2025/ Reproduction

This will be a solution for our country, which has had alcohol-powered cars for 30 years. Ethanol is cleaner than the battery itself, and it’s a Brazilian thing

He also emphasized the importance of initiatives like this for education, as, after development, both vessels will be transformed into floating laboratories, classrooms, and technological platforms to promote research, education environmental awareness and the preservation of Brazilian biomes. The resources from Explorer H2 will also be used by NÁUTICA.

Document that established the partnership between JAQ and Itaipu Parquetec was signed at the opening of the Boat Show in Foz, in November 2024. Photo: Descio Oliveira/ Náutica Magazine

This is not the first time that the president of Grupo NÁUTICA reaffirms his commitment to sustainable initiatives. In the 1980s, Ernani played a key role in the creation of the SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation, having been a signatory of its statutes. “We contributed to sowing environmental preservation through the publication of a monthly column dedicated to ecology,” he explains.

Since the 1990s, he, in partnership with cartoonist Ziraldo, has been promoting the campaign “Only throw into the water what the fish can eat“, highlighting the importance of caring for our most precious asset — the environment — at various points along the Brazilian coast. In addition to keeping the project active, a tribute was made to the artist's journey after his death in 2024, through the Boat Show — the largest in Latin America — with the first tribute held at the Rio Boat Show.

Photo: Náutica Magazine

In 2006, Paciornik showed the world the navigable potential of the city of São Paulo when Grupo Náutica, through the São Paulo Boat Show, stopped the streets and avenues of the capital and the waters of the Guarapiranga Reservoir with the parade of the most modern amphibious vehicle in the world at the time.

Photo: Náutica Magazine

Since 2019, when he became involved in the Novo Rio Pinheiros Program, the president of Grupo Náutica has been an ally in the effort between the public and private spheres to improve the quality of life for people with new leisure and community options in the region.

Photo: Náutica Magazine

Grupo Náutica has continued to draw public attention to the benefits of recovering urban rivers through the campaign “For a navigable city.” In 2011, for example, it promoted a surprising competition between three boats (which navigated a straight course of 13 kilometers on the Tietê River) against a car (which faced the Marginal during peak traffic hours in the city).

Photo: Náutica Magazine

The initiative unfolded into numerous other actions on the waters of the capital, always well-articulated through the vision of Ernani Paciornik and drawing attention to the potential of the waters. The JAQ Project is yet another of his many actions in this market, responsible for high economic movement and job creation.

Just in the United States, to give an idea, recreational boating alone generates more than 820,000 jobs, according to data from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). There is also significant potential in Brazil to be explored, not to mention technological and sustainable innovations, such as the new "green hydrogen" exploration project from the Group.

His leadership is an example of how the nautical industry can develop and seek differentiated solutions.