Electric hydrofoil specialist Fliteboard is back with a fresh lineup of all-electric foiling products. The company launched its Series 3 range of eFoils today, complete with several upgraded models of varying shape, color, and price, plus an entirely new eFoil promising to be the “world’s lightest.” Check them all out below.
Fliteboard is an Australian-based company founded in 2018 that has quickly risen to prominence in both the hydrofoil segment and as a global brand. It has sold over 9,000 Fliteboards to customers across 90 countries who have collectively logged over 46,000 rides above the water.
The company has since expanded to additional offices in the Netherlands and the United States, established “Fliteschools” on multiple continents, and now has over 300 authorized partners selling its eFoils.
Up until now, Flite and its partners have been selling Series 1 and 2 eFoils, but starting today, the company has launched its latest range of advanced hydrofoil technology. Check them out.
Fliteboard’s new range features swappable propulsion
The global eFoil specialist outlined many of the upgrades customers can expect to see in its Series 3 lineup, including a slew of new color options like gold and bronze, in addition to new board shapes and deck grips.
Although there’s an ultralight eFoil we’ll get to in a second, Flite’s most impressive new technology debuting in Series 3 may be the addition of a Dual Drive propulsion system with optional Flite Jet. Fliteboard explains that Flite Jet is the world’s smallest and lowest drag eFoil jet available today, developed by hydrodynamicists around the globe. By adding Dual Drive capabilities, Fliteboarders can now swap between propeller or jet power, with no tools required.
Another major focus of Flite’s Series 3 announcement is the debut of the Fliteboard ULTRA L – an eFoil that utilizes the company’s ultralight Flitecell Nano lithium-ion battery (seen above), which it touts as the “world’s lightest” for eFoils while still delivering up to 45 minutes of foil time.
At 49.6 lb. (22.5 kg), the complete ULTRA L setup (including the 14 lb. battery) is extremely light and maneuverable. In fact, Flite is touting the ULTRA L as the world’s lightest performance eFoil. The company describes the ULTRA L as its most agile and responsive ride yet. Fliteboard CEO and product architect David Trewern spoke to the Series 3 range and the company’s upgraded tech:
A bold vision backed by relentless design and development created the first Fliteboard back in 2018. We continue to break new ground, and are proud to reveal the most sophisticated and innovative electric hydrofoil range on the market. Furthering the pursuit of the ultimate ride, Series 3 offers record-breaking developments with the world’s lightest performance eFoil, lightest ever lithium-ion eFoil battery and the world’s first interchangeable propulsion system. These advances will truly change the way we experience the water.
Lastly, Series 3 introduces a fiberglass range of eFoils available at lower price point, without compromising durability or performance. That range starts at $9,995 and includes wings plus a Flitecell Sport battery.
You can view Fliteboard’s entire lineup of eFoils and propulsion products, including Series 3, here. You can also check out a video of the full Series 3 launch event below.
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Tesla appears to be doubling down on its new “Oasis” Supercharger station concept, which consists of larger stations powered by solar and a microgrid battery system.
Although, this new one is a bit less ambitious.
Last month, Tesla announced its “project Oasis” (pictured above), which should become one of Tesla’s largest Supercharger stations with several pull-through stalls for trucks and trailers, but the real differentiating factor is a large solar array and battery system that enables the charging station to operate off-grid mostly.
CEO Elon Musk has been saying that the goal of the Supercharger network is to be powered by solar and batteries and mostly off-grid since 2016, but Tesla has yet to make this common.
The announcement of the Project Oasis gave us some hope that it might finally happen, and now it looks like Tesla is planning a mini Oasis.
Marco RP, who tracks Supercharger projects, reported on the new construction plans submitted for the Coalinga, California station:
The project is about 50 miles north of Project Oasis – also on Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
We call it a “mini Oasis” not because it has fewer charging stations than Oasis; it actually has the same number of planned stalls, 168 stalls, but because it doesn’t have as much solar and batteries to enable off-grid use.
Oasis has 11 MW of planned solar power and 39 MWh of energy storage.
This new project in Coalinga has less than 1 MW of solar and 15.5 MWh of energy storage. In the case of Oasis, the grid complements Tesla’s microgrid, and in this new project, it’s Tesla’s microgrid that complements the grid connection.
But Tesla could eventually expand its solar array and battery storage system at the new station.
This new station also includes restrooms, which Tesla has sometimes deployed at bigger stations.
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Home to luxury automakers like Porsche and BWM, Lucid Motors (LCID) is making a name for itself in Germany. Lucid just had its second consecutive month of record EV registrations in Europe’s largest auto market.
Lucid is taking on Europe with its luxury EVs
According to new data released Tuesday from Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), Lucid had 129 new registrations in October.
Although it may not seem like much, it’s a considerable jump from the 41 registrations Lucid had in September. Lucid sold more cars in Germany last month than it did in the entire third quarter. The luxury EV maker has 256 registrations in Germany through the first ten months.
Lucid’s growth comes despite overall EV registrations in Germany slipping nearly 5% YOY to 35,491 units in October.
After opening its newest studio in Hamburg last month, Lucid declared its “expansion in Europe continues.” The new studio comes just a month after opening one in Frankfurt.
Lucid now has four showrooms in Germany and eight in Europe as it expands overseas. Last month, the EV maker also signed a deal with SIXT to add its luxury Air sedan to its fleet in Germany.
Following the deal, former CEO Peter Rawlinson said more customers will be able to “experience the only EV in the world which is equally at home on the Autobahn as on city streets.”
Lucid’s mobile service network covers 15 European markets, including Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
The Lucid Air Pure starts at about $93,000 (€85,000) in Germany and has up to 464 miles (747 km) of WLTP range. Lucid’s Air Touring and Air Grand Touring models start at $108,200 (€99,000) and $141,000 (€129,000), respectively.
Starting Price
WLTP Range
Lucid Air Pure
$93,000 (€85,000)
464 miles (747 km)
Lucid Air Touring
$108,200 (€99,000)
451 miles (725 km)
Lucid Air Grand Touring
$141,000 (€129,000)
521 miles (839 km)
Lucid Air EV prices and range by trim in Germany
Lucid said it plans to continue expanding in Europe with its newly opened service and delivery centers in Munich and Zurich.
In the US, the company is gearing up to launch its first electric SUV, the Gravity. Lucid will begin taking Gravity SUV orders for US buyers on November 7, 2024.
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Renewables developer Exus Renewables North America is giving a $200 million upgrade to Somerset County, Pennsylvania’s 139 megawatt (MW) Twin Ridges Wind Farm – here’s why repowering projects like this are the future of the wind industry.
Wind energy repowering is all about breathing new life into older turbines or entire wind farms. By swapping out aging parts like turbines, blades, and nacelles for the latest tech, wind farms can see significant boosts in efficiency, power capacity, and overall lifespan. Other infrastructure and control systems can also get a second life, too.
Adding new components to existing infrastructure and grid connections mean it’s less expensive to extend the life of the wind farm with fewer resources. New components make the turbines less prone to breakdowns which means less maintenance, so there are fewer operational costs. Plus, a wind farm’s debt is usually paid off at around 10 years, and it qualifies for new tax credits and new financing at around that time. Existing wind farms often have power purchase agreements in place, and data companies are increasingly chasing power sources as demand grows.
Repowering Twin Ridges meant keeping all 68 towers and foundations while swapping out the nacelles and blades. Vestas, which has identified the repower market as a huge opportunity and engineered a solution that’s compatible with most turbines, supplied US-made nacelles, hubs, blades, and tower adaptors for the project. (Twin Ridges’ original supplier, RES, is no longer in business.)
Jim Spencer, CEO of Exus Renewables North America, said of Twin Ridges, “This upgrade will increase the power generation by 30%, which is a lot more power going into the grid. Repowering will allow it to use more of its allotted grid capacity since wind farms don’t operate at maximum capacity 100% of the time.”
Unlike a new wind farm, which comes online all at once, a repowered wind farm sees refurbished turbines turned on one at a time since the infrastructure is already in place. Out of its 68 upgraded turbines, Twin Ridges has brought 40 repowered turbines online, and a 41st turbine will soon follow.
Industry estimates suggest that up to 50 GW of US onshore wind capacity will be assessed for repowering in the next few years.
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