Electric boat builder Candela is approaching cruising speed with $25 million in new funding and the first commercial deployment of its new P-12 ferry in New Zealand. The company has global ambitions for its highly efficient boats and has completed and delivered dozens of them — which is a lot in this industry!
Candela has been slowly increasing the size of its boats for years, starting with the significantly smaller C-7 and C-8 (noting the length in meters) – of which, as of this week, they have now built a total of 70. The P -12, a ferry design that can accommodate up to 30 passengers, debuted late last year.
Just last week, the P-12 received its first mission: they bring people around New Zealand’s Lake Manapōuri, a picturesque destination but also, more importantly, the site of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant. And now staff at that station can get to work by clean boat instead of driving, which the companies estimate will save about 240 tons of emissions a year. It’s a start and will help keep the pond clean and quiet.
International interest in these vessels is also evident in the participation of Groupe Beneteau, a century-old shipping company that builds thousands of vessels annually, in the financing round. Groupe Beneteau CEO Bruno Thivoyon expressed in the press release that the investment in Candela makes sense as part of the company’s “green transition goals, upgrading innovative solutions for more sustainable boating.”
Many legacy boat companies are embracing electric motors and next-generation technology. I spoke to the head of another major manufacturer, Brunswick’s Dave Foulkes, at CES about this. He said the partnerships are fruitful because small, growing companies need the revenue and reach, while larger ones need ready-to-develop technology. Like any other industry, you have to know when to buy and when to build, and the big boat companies are eager to buy — or invest.
Candela’s boats use hydrofoils with electric motors mounted on the bottom to effectively hover above the surface of the water once they exceed a certain speed, greatly reducing energy consumption – historically and understandably a sticking point for electric boating. The approach requires a strong autopilot to keep it balanced, and despite their assurances, I wonder how they would handle log collisions, but overall the pros seem to outweigh the cons.
I rode one this summer in Seattle (watching closely for logs, rather common in Elliott Bay) and wished they would replace the fast passenger car ferries with P-12s. Candela is not alone in pursuing this market. Navier is also trying to attract coastal communities with the lure of a quiet, energy-efficient transit and is currently bringing Stripe employees to the Bay Area. And while Zin Boats has been quiet for some time now, they are also suppressing purchases for the next version of their boat.
The $25 million round was reportedly led by Beneteau, with participation from EQT Ventures, Ocean Zero LLC and Kan Dela AB.
