Cannes 2026: HVO confirmed for yachting's transition

Cannes 2026: listening to what the industry actually needs

The Heeding team, including founders Bruno Arcaleni, Cédric Y. Choël, attended Cannes Yachting Festival 2026. The goal was not to pitch a ready-made solution, but to listen to yachting professionals: shipyards, engine manufacturers, yacht managers and fuel distributors.

One question kept coming up on the show floor: how to move the sector's energy transition from roadmaps and announcements to concrete action. These conversations surfaced clear, operational feedback on both the obstacles and the levers already within reach.

This direct-listening approach reinforces a belief at the core of Heeding: energy decisions in yachting are made close to the ground, among engine makers, shipyards and operators. The lessons below reflect exactly that.

HVO: an operational reality, confirmed by engine manufacturers

The clearest takeaway from the show: HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) is no longer a theoretical promise but an option already validated by the market. Several major engine manufacturers we met at Cannes, including mtu solutions, Yanmar, MAN Engines, Cummins Inc. and Baudouin, confirmed that their engine ranges are compatible with this fuel.

This alignment across several independent manufacturers changes the nature of the debate: the question is no longer whether HVO works on today's marine engines, but how to fold it into procurement practices. Some refit operators have already made that move for their construction sites.

HVO is currently the most mature low-carbon option for yachting, already validated by several leading engine manufacturers and used in real operating conditions by some shipyards.

Market demand: compatibility, availability and simplicity

The second lesson concerns the nature of demand. Yachting professionals expressed genuine interest in low-carbon solutions, but their priorities remain very practical.

Ahead of any abstract environmental consideration, three criteria came up again and again in our conversations: compatibility with engines already in service, fuel availability at the ports actually used, and simplicity of day-to-day supply.

This ordering of needs makes sense for operators running expensive fleets on tight schedules. No one wants to replace a working engine, or risk a supply shortage, in the name of the energy transition.

HVO fits this logic well: it can be used without engine modification wherever manufacturers have validated it, which explains the interest it drew from the yacht managers and shipyards we met at Cannes.

Building the low-carbon ecosystem together

The third lesson may be the most structural: no single player can carry the yachting sector's energy transition alone. Engine manufacturers, distributors, shipyards, yacht managers and bunkering operators each hold part of the answer, without a shared overall view.

An engine manufacturer knows the technical compatibility of its engines, but not necessarily fuel availability at a given port. A distributor knows its volumes, but not always the exact specifications expected by shipyards. This fragmentation of information slows down decisions that, in substance, are already ready to be made.

That is precisely the role Heeding aims to play: acting as the meeting point between those looking for energy solutions and those able to supply them, providing reliable information on compatibility, availability and suppliers. The conversations held at Cannes have already opened several partnership discussions with major players in the sector.

See you at the Monaco Yacht Show

Thank you to everyone we met at Cannes for such open and substantive conversations. This ground-level feedback is directly shaping how Heeding is building its low-carbon energy ecosystem for yachting.

If you missed us at Cannes, another opportunity is coming soon. We will be at the Monaco Yacht Show, from 23 to 26 September, to continue these discussions on HVO and other low-carbon options suited to your engines.