Electric hydrofoil boat sets distance milestone, CEO says

STORY: :: Candela

This electric hydrofoil boat traveled 420 nautical miles within 24 hours – a new milestone, according to the CEO of Candela, the maker of the watercraft.

Gustav Hasselskog, who piloted the boat between Stockholm and the Baltic island of Aland, says it proves how far the technology has come.

"...the key thing that we really wanted to prove is that you can drastically reduce emissions and you can save a lot of money by going electric..."

:: CARBON SHIFT

Leveraging innovative hydrofoil technology, Candela's C-8 lifts above the water on wings.

That reduces energy consumption by 80% compared to conventional electric boats.

The average speed during the trip was 17 knots, including charging breaks.

:: Gustav Hasselskog, Candela CEO and founder

"...What we wanted to do was to prove that you can go electric with a ferry all that distance because in the past those few electric boats and ferries that you see they tend to go very short distances and with the technology we have with the hydrofoils and a very lightweight design we can greatly improve the range so this means we could go all that way and really show that you can now shift from traditional diesel ferries to this electric version.”

Hasselskog says the technology also saves money.

He says a photographer traveling alongside the C-8 in a combustion engine boat spent about $700 on gasoline.

Hasselskog says his trip cost about $25.

"...so that shows kind of the massive reduction you can have in energy costs for doing this; not only saving the environment.”

Candela’s passenger vessel, the 30-person Candela P-12 Shuttle will start operating in the Stockholm waterways later this year.