Flying electric boat company Candela soars closer to its 30-passenger vessel

Swedish electric boat maker Candela is flying high recently, and not just on its hydrofoils. The company has just announced a new $20M investment that will accelerate the rollout of its upcoming 30-passenger electric ferry, the Candela P-12 Shuttle.

Candela has spent years developing and producing electric hydrofoil boats that have so far been used primarily for recreational boating.

Now the company’s P-12 electric ferry is set to bring the same benefits of Candela’s existing designs to the world of commercial boating.

Hydrofoil boats are more efficient than traditional boats because they are designed to reduce drag and increase speed by lifting the hull out of the water. The hydrofoil, which is a wing-like structure mounted on struts below the hull, creates lift when it moves through the water, similar to how an airplane wing creates lift in the air. This reduces the amount of surface area in contact with the water, which in turn reduces drag and improves efficiency.

Because the boat is lifted out of the water, it also experiences less resistance from waves, resulting in a smoother ride and less energy consumption. That means that Candela’s boats are not only much more efficient than conventional combustion engine boats with traditional V-hulls, but they are also several times more efficient than most other electric boats on the market today.

For a commercial operator, that efficiency and comfort make a huge difference in operations. And now that Candela has landed a new round of investment totaling SEK 210 million ($20M), the P-12 is even closer to production.

The investment round was co-led by EQT Ventures and investor duo Joel Eklund (Fosielund Holding AB) and Svante Nilo Bengtsson (Marknadspotential AB), with participation from Ocean Zero LLC, among others.

Candela tells us that the funding will be used to bring Candela’s game-changing, foiling 30-passenger ferry Candela P-12 Shuttle to mass production in the company’s new Stockholm factory.

As CEO and founder Gustav Hasselskog explained, the P-12 will be more than just quicker and cheaper than land transportation; it will also be immediately profitable for the transportation companies that operate it.

This new investment will unlock the potential of underutilized waterways for climate-friendly, high-speed commuting. The P-12 Shuttle will in many cases be faster and cheaper than land transport like bus lines, and it will be profitable for operators from day one.

The cost-effective alternative form of transportation uses its high efficiency to reduce operating costs and bring down the high initial upfront cost of many electric boats that would normally require much larger batteries.

Because the P-12 will use 80% less energy than traditional vessels, its economical battery will still provide a record range of 60 nautical miles on a single charge when cruising at a speed of 27 knots.

The Candela P-12 is expected to launch this summer, when the company says it will become the fastest and longest-range electric passenger vessel in the world.

The advantages of the boat’s electric hydrofoil design primarily benefit its occupants and operators, though the shift away from combustion engine vessels is also a major benefit to the climate. A recent life cycle analysis by Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology concluded that a P-12 ferry will emit 97.5% less carbon dioxide over its lifetime compared to a diesel vessel of the same size, including its emissions from production, operations over 30 years and recycling.

I’ve had the opportunity to test out two of Candela’s current models, the C-7 and C-8 electric hydrofoil boats.

Both vessels left me quite impressed (and also made me look good with their ultra easy-to-use controls), though the C-8 was my clear favorite. The larger vessel is even smoother, quieter, and more capable, flying higher above the surface to clear choppier waters. I was able to cut across the wakes of everything from speed boats to cruise ships with only the slightest movement of the boat. A V-hull boat would have been crashing up and down when crossing the same wakes.

In fact, you can check it out in the video of my most recent testing experience below. It’s a doozy to see the two different styles of boats sailing side by side.