New electric boat motor uses wind and water to recharge its batteries at sea
It may not offer infinite range, but it’s close. The new Oceanvolt ServoProp saildrive has a regeneration feature that efficiently charges up an electric boat’s batteries while sailing.
Many people think of sailboats as being purely wind powered. While smaller sailboats usually are, most decently sized sailboats have a motor for maneuvering in a marina or when the winds die down.
Saildrive motors are an innovative propulsion system commonly found on modern sailboats, offering a compact and efficient alternative to traditional shaft-driven inboard engines.
Designed with a sleek, low-drag profile, saildrives are integrated into the hull and consist of an engine mounted directly above a drive leg that extends through the hull, with a propeller at the lower end. This configuration not only reduces vibrations and noise but also minimizes the complexity of installation and maintenance.
Saildrive motors offer smooth, efficient power delivery and extra maneuverability. Their streamlined design contributes to enhanced sailing performance by reducing drag. As a result, saildrives have become a popular choice for contemporary sailing enthusiasts seeking a balance between performance, ease of use, and reduced environmental impact.
Electric saildrive motors have the benefit of offering hydro-regeneration – a unique advantage that can help recharge an electric sailboat’s batteries. When sailing under wind power, the electric motor is actually forced backwards by the water moving over the propellor. That turns the motor into a generator that can send energy back into the batteries to be used later.
Oceanvolt is widely seen as a leader in the field of hydro-regenerating motors, having racked up awards for their motors going back years, according to Plugboats. The company’s saildrives use propellors with variable pitch blades, which when combined with the motor’s ability to rotate 360 degrees, creates the most efficient environment for both propulsion and hydro-regeneration.
The company’s newest HighPower ServoProp 25 is the most powerful model in its lineup, capable of regenerating 5 kW of power while traveling at around 10 knots. According to company, future software updates that will tweak the saildrive’s performance will allow it to produce even higher power with greater efficiency.
Controlled from within the cockpit, the ServoProp 25 can switch from regeneration to propulsion with the push of a button. A readout for the operator shows the saildrive’s current operation mode, generated power, RPM, and time remaining until the 48V batteries have been recharged.
Beyond the obvious advantages over combustion engines, such as quieter operation and lack of noxious emissions, the entire system is digitally controlled to make installation simple. The water-cooling system, motor controller, and blade controller are all built into the unit, further simplifying the installation process.
When back in propulsion mode, the motor can output 25 kW continuously, though it has a peak power rating of 30 kW for 15 minutes. As is usual with electric boat motors, their lower power figure is equivalent to a much more powerful combustion engine. In this case, Oceavolt says that the 25 kW nominal power is similar in performance to a 75 kW (100 hp) combustion engine drive.
The instant torque and 5,000 newton (approximately 1,100 lb.) thrust force are major advantages of the electric setup.
The 419 lb. (190 kg) saildrive is suitable as a propulsion motor for boats up to 70 ft. in length and weighing up to 27.5 US tons (25 metric tons).
It can also be used as a hydro-regenerator alone in considerably larger vessels. Deliveries of the new saildrive are expected to begin by the end of this year.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla has partnered with Steak ‘n Shake to deploy Superchargers at up to more than 100 restaurant locations.
The partnership between Tesla and the American fast food chain has been revealed through a strange series of posts on X.
First, Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on Steak ‘n Shake’s announcement that it is switching from using seed oils to beef tallow.
The restaurant responded by proposing “Tesla charging stations at Steak n Shake”, but they apparently didn’t know that it was already happening as Tesla responded that they had already signed on 6 sites and they have over 20 more in review:
The Steak n Shake account responded by suggesting that the partnership extend to over 100 locations:
Thank you Tesla Charging! Let’s do over 100 locations. Consider all sites approved!
The chain operates over 400 locations around the world – many of them in the midwest. A lot of these locations are located near highways, where Tesla prefers to deploy charging stations.
It’s not the first time that Tesla has partnered with a restaurant for multiple Supercharger locations. It also has a deal with Ruby Tuesday.
Tesla is currently deploying its latest V4 Superchargers capable of 500 kW – with the first stations expected to come online in the US later this year.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Volkswagen’s electric SUV is making a comeback. Last month, the Volkswagen ID.4 topped Tesla’s Model Y to become the best-selling EV in Europe, and it was even in the top three in the US.
Volkswagen ID.4 was EU’s best-selling EV, top 3 in the US
Although new vehicle registrations fell 2% in Europe last month, electric vehicles were a bright spot, with BEV sales up 37% from the year prior.
According to JATO Dynamics, 165,473 EVs were registered in Europe in January. The Volkswagen ID.4 took the top spot after registrations surged 195% to 7,177, overtaking the Tesla Model Y.
Tesla Model Y registrations plunged 46% in Europe last month to 6,155. The Model 3 refresh, which was launched in late 2023, had a 44% decline in registrations. Overall, Tesla registered only 9,913 vehicles in January 2025, a 45% decline from last year.
While the arrival of the new Model Y plays a role, backlash against Elon Musk’s increasingly outspoken political antics is also causing widespread hate among owners in the US and Europe.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO said the solid performance of EVs is “particularly impressive given the significant dip in sales that Tesla experienced” in January.
He explained, “it’s not unusual for sales to drop just before a new generation or an updated model is introduced to the market.”
Although sales are expected to pick up again, Munoz added, “The performance of both the Model 3 and Model Y is an indication of the declining popularity of Tesla in Europe overall.”
Volkswagen is taking advantage with the ID.4 taking the top spot, and the ID.7 placing third with 5,879 registrations, up 657% from January 2024.
Kia’s mass-market EV3h launched in late 2024, took fourth with 5,792, while the Skoda Enyaq rounded out the top five.
Chinese automakers, like BYD and MG, are starting to gain some real traction in Europe. With 37,134 vehicles registered last month, up 52% from January 2024, Chinese brands accounted for 3.7% of the market. That’s up from the 2.4% market share in January 2024.
Although still a relatively small number, combined, it would put them ahead of Ford, which registered 35,790 vehicles in Europe last month.
Electrek’s Take
The ID.4 appears to be making a comeback. After it went back on sale early last month, Volkswagen’s ID.4 was already the third best-selling EV in the US in January behind Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.
Despite its success in Europe and the US, Volkswagen, like most global OEMs, is struggling in China. VW’s Chinese joint venture with SAIC cut the price of the ID.4 X, its version of the electric SUV sold in China, to under $20,000 (139,900 yuan) this week.
With leases starting as low as $189 per month in the US, it’s no wonder the ID.4 is already a top seller. If you’re ready to check it out for yourself, you can use our link to find deals on the Volkswagen ID.4 in your area.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Elon Musk has reportedly ‘canceled’ a Tesla engineer for complaining about the CEO’s behaviors on social media.
As we recently reported, Tesla insiders are finally starting to speak out against Elon Musk over his increasingly unhinged social media presence.
For example, just today, he called CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen’s family a “crime family” because someone wrongly claimed that his daughter received millions of dollars from USAID when it was just someone with the same last name.
However, it looks like Musk and Tesla are actively suppressing employees speaking out.
The New York Times reports that Tesla has fired Jared Ottmann, a manager of battery thermal supplier industrialization engineering, over his complaints about Musk.
Ottmann, who has been at Tesla for 6 years, says that he has been raising concerns internally about Musk’s use of social media for the last 3 years, but he ramped up his effort last month after Musk’s salute at the Trump inauguration.
The engineer specifically took offense to a tweet that Musk posted in the aftermath of the inauguration. Instead of apologizing and saying that he didn’t mean to make a Nazi salute, Musk decided to attack the media for even suggesting that the gesture was a Sieg Heiland tweeted this:
Ottmann commented on the post:
This post by Tesla’s current CEO name drops genocidal assholes as a joke and has 308,000 likes.
The engineer says that he raised the issue with Tesla and while he gets “personally support”, he says the company remains silent about Musk’s behavior:
Starting in 2022 and especially the last week I’ve raised the issue internally multiple times, with managers, HR, legal compliance, investor relations. And while overwhelmingly people offer personal support, Tesla as a company has remained silent.
Ottmann, who has been promoted 4 times in 6 years at Tesla, has now been let go.
Electrek’s Take
For a guy who calls himself a “free speech absolutist” and “anti-cancel culture”, he canceled this engineer pretty quickly when he didn’t like how he was exercising his free speech.
This is obviously an attempt at scaring other Tesla employees from speaking out at Tesla.
It’s one of my main concerns about the automaker: it’s not a meritocracy that attracts top engineering talent anymore. One of the main criteria to work at Tesla now is to support its CEO, who is off the deep end.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway