In an industry first, two Swedish e-mobility companies have partnered to bring electric boating into the mainstream. Luxury EV maker Polestar has agreed to supply batteries for future Candela commercial and leisure hydrofoiling electric boats.
The agreement sees Polestar supplying the battery packs and charging systems for the recently launched P-8 Voyager commercial boat – which has a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h or 35 mph) and a battery pack that currently promises up to 50 nautical miles of per-charge range at a 20-knot cruise speed – and the equally zippy C-8 leisure craft.
These market-leading top speeds and range figures are made possible by Candela's computer-controlled foiling technology, which reduces drag by as much as 80 percent compared to conventional designs while producing "near zero wake." And thanks to the electric powertrain, folks can look forward to a quiet and clean ride above the waves.
"That Polestar will be part of future projects with Candela by supplying an essential part for the innovative propulsion of their boats, is awesome," said Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath. "As a battery supplier to Candela, we can help drive the transition to cleaner oceans and lakes, and electrify waterborne transport."
The new partnership is expected to allow Candela to ramp up production, and hopefully lead to reduced costs too – given that electric boat builders have thus far had to rely on pricey boutique marine battery vendors – and allow the company to achieve price parity with vessels powered by fossil fuels and combustion engines.
"To make electric boats mainstream, we need to build thousands of boats every year," said Gustav Hasselskog, Candela's founder and CEO. "Working together with Polestar, we’re able to bring the scale of production and world class engineering from the automotive industry to the marine sector."
Candela is currently moving into a new production facility to manufacture its C-series leisure models and P-series commercial boats. And this battery supply deal is reported to be just the beginning of broader long-term collaborations between the two e-mobility companies.
Source: Candela
