Watch out Flipper. U-Boat Worx has announced major performance improvements to its fully-electric, three-passenger Super Sub, donning it “the most flow-dynamic submersible the world has ever seen.” With these improvements to flow dynamics, U-Boat Worx states the electric sub is now 3-4 knots faster than the cruising speed of a bottlenose dolphin.
U-Boat Worx is a Dutch submersible manufacturer that began as a dream by founder Bert Houtman in the 1980s. Today, the company is one of the industry leaders in sub design and electric versions in particular.
U-Boat Worx handles submersible design, construction, and operations for militaries, research institutes, and tourism companies. Since 2017, the electric submarine specialist has sold over twenty of its Cruise Subs to private customers, resorts, and cruise lines.
U-Boat Worx currently offers six different series of submarines, all of which are electric. This includes the nine-passenger NEXUS series we previously covered, as well as the three-passenger Super Sub which first debuted in 2021.
Today, U-Boat Worx has showcased the scientific work that went into a redesign of the Super Sub to bolster its speed below the water’s surface.
The electric three-passenger Super Sub / Source: U-Boat Worx
Flow dynamics testing
U-Boat Worx’s faster electric Super Sub to launch in 2023
While U-Boat Worx has yet to provide the video evidence it is claiming the upcoming version of its Super Sub can cruise as quickly as 10 knots, 3-4 knots faster than the bottlenose dolphin. In addition to a streamlined design, speed comes from a four thruster propulsion system delivering 60 kW of thrust.
This flow dynamic optimization is also a welcomed improvement from the speed of eight knots the submersible developer was originally estimating. At top speed, the electric Super Sub can cruise about seven knots faster than the average submersible, and now has the same flow dynamics as an electric car. Company CEO Bert Houtman spoke:
We are very excited about this development. It’s something we have been working hard on, and now to have the most flow-dynamic submersible possible, we couldn’t be more pleased. We are confident that our clients will feel the same.
U-Boat Worx originally introduced the Super Sub as its fastest and most maneuverable design to date. When the revamped versions begin to deliver in 2023, those passengers are in for even faster journeys through the sea at depths as low as 300 meters.
The company states the first new Super Sub has already been sold, and it plans to begin sea trials this coming spring. Perhaps then we can see this electric submersible go fin to fin with a dolphin.
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In a joint statement, French and German economists have called on governments to adopt “a common approach” to decarbonize European trucking fleets – and they’re calling for a focus on fully electric trucks, not hydrogen.
France and Germany are the two largest economies in the EU, and they share similar challenges when it comes to freight decarbonization. The two countries also share a border, and the traffic between the two nations generates major cross-border flows that create common externalities between the two countries.
And for once, it seems like rail isn’t a viable option:
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While rail remains competitive mainly for heavy, homogeneous goods over long distances. Most freight in Europe is indeed transported over distances of less than 200 km and involves consignment weights of up to 30 tonnes (GCEE, 2024) In most such cases, transportation by rail instead of truck is not possible or not competitive. Moreover, taking into account the goods currently transported in intermodal transport units over distances of more than 300 km, the modal shift potential from road to rail would be only 6% in Germany and less than 2% in France.
That leaves trucks – and, while numerous government incentives currently exist to promote the parallel development of both hydrogen and battery electric vehicle infrastructures, the study is clear in picking a winner.
“Policies should focus on battery-electric trucks (BET) as these represent the most mature and market-ready technology for road freight transport,” reads the the FGCEE statement. “Hence, to ramp-up usage of BET public funding should be used to accelerate the roll-out of fast-charging networks along major corridors and in private depots.”
The appeal was signed by the co-chair of the advisory body on the German side is the chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, Monika Schnitzer. Camille Landais co-chairs the French side. On the German side, the appeal was signed by four of the five experts; Nuremberg-based energy economist Veronika Grimm (who also sits on the National Hydrogen Council, which is committed to promoting H2 trucks and filling stations) did not sign.
With companies like Volvo and Renault and now Mercedes racking up millions of miles on their respective battery electric semi truck fleets, it’s no longer even close. EV is the way.
On today’s tariff-tastic episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got tariffs! Big ones, small ones, crazy ones, and fake ones – but whether or not you agree with the Trump tariffs coming into effect tomorrow, one thing is absolutely certain: they are going to change the price you pay for your next car … and that price won’t be going down!
Everyone’s got questions about what these tariffs are going to mean for their next car buying experience, but this is a bigger question, since nearly every industry in the US uses cars and trucks to move their people and products – and when their costs go up, so do yours.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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GE Vernova has produced over half the turbines needed for SunZia Wind, which will be the largest wind farm in the Western Hemisphere when it comes online in 2026.
GE Vernova has manufactured enough turbines at its Pensacola, Florida, factory to supply over 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of the turbines needed for the $5 billion, 2.4 GW SunZia Wind, a project milestone. The wind farm will be sited in Lincoln, Torrance, and San Miguel counties in New Mexico.
At a ribbon-cutting event for Pensacola’s new customer experience center, GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik noted that since 2023, the company has invested around $70 million in the Pensacola factory.
The Pensacola investments are part of the announcement GE Vernova made in January that it will invest nearly $600 million in its US factories and facilities over the next two years to help meet the surging electricity demands globally. GE Vernova says it’s expecting its investments to create more than 1,500 new US jobs.
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Vic Abate, CEO of GE Vernova Wind, said, “Our dedicated employees in Pensacola are working to address increasing energy demands for the US. The workhorse turbines manufactured at this world-class factory are engineered for reliability and scalability, ensuring our customers can meet growing energy demand.”
SunZia Wind and Transmission will create US history’s largest clean energy infrastructure project.
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