Polestar to provide battery and charging systems for Candela’s flying boats
The Swedish electric car maker Polestar will provide battery and charging systems for Candela’s highly efficient flying boats. The battery deal will enable Candela to scale up production swiftly, bringing mass-market electric boats one step closer to reality, according to the company's release.
The two Swedish companies Polestar and Candela have ventured into an agreement where Polestar will supply the battery and charging systems for Candela’s revolutionary hydrofoiling speedboats.
The deal lets Candela tap into state-of-the art automotive battery technology and scale up production of its best-selling electric boats.
The deal between the two Swedish companies is an attempt to overcome the two major hurdles for electrifying boating. The first hurdle is the massive energy consumption of conventional powerboat hulls, which so far has resulted in poor performance of electric boats. This obstacle has been cleared by Candela’s hydrofoil technology that cuts energy usage of powerboats by up to 80%.
The second hurdle has been the prohibitively high cost of marine batteries for electric boats.
Electric boatbuilders typically have so far relied on smaller, boutique vendors of marine battery packs. Scarcity and high unit costs of these packs are two factors that have prevented electric boats from achieving parity with ICE vessels.
Flying above the water’s surface at 30 knots, the Candela C-8 and P-8 Voyager use up to 80% less energy than conventional boats of the same size, thanks to much reduced water friction. The computer-actuated foils also give them “superpowers”, such as superior seakeeping, zero wake and a silent ride.
After launching the high-volume sales Candela C-8 leisure boat during the fall 2021 and shortly after raising €24 million from EQT Ventures, the Swedish boat maker is now moving into a new production plant where the P-series commercial vessels and C-series leisure boats will be produced.
Candela is a Swedish electric boat company whose mission is to speed up the shift to fossil fuel-free lakes and oceans. Using computer-guided hydrofoils – underwater wings that lift the hull above the surface, thereby overcoming the friction of water – Candela’s craft use up to 80% less energy at high speeds than traditional motorboats.
In 2021, Candela launched the bigger, high-volume production Candela C-8, which is designed to make electric boats mainstream. With space for eight passengers, it has a range of 50 nautical miles at 22 knots and a top speed of 30 knots. Powered by the Candela C-POD, an electric pod motor developed in-house by Candela’s 50-strong engineering team, it is 400% more efficient than other powerboats on the market.
