Candela boats between Europe and North Africa
The Candela C-8 Polestar Edition was used for the one-hour crossing between Europe and North Africa. As the name suggests, the hydrofoil is a collaboration between carmaker Polestar and Candela.
Candela says that the Candela C-8 used only 40 kWh of energy for the journey, which is about 8 euros worth, compared to a similarly-sized fossil fuelled boat, which uses around 50 litres of fuel, costing around 90 euros.
For areas with choppy waters, such as the notorious Gibraltar Straight known for strong currents and unpredictable seas, the hydrofoil system also offers a “magic pill” for sea sickness. The watercraft uses sensors to detect waves, wind and current, and the system automatically adjusts the hydrofoils up to 100 times per second.
“It functions much like the flight controller of a modern jet fighter, and works very well. We couldn’t feel the waves, while the photo boat was bouncing around quite a bit,” said Gustav Hasselskog, CEO of Candela and pilot during the crossing.
Manuel Gómez, founder and CEO at Avangreen, joined the C-8 for the short intercontinental journey. Avangreen is the clean energy company behind Ceuta’ largest solar plant, and is joining forces with Candela to lay the foundation “for a new era of sustainable maritime infrastructure.”
“Enabling sustainable mobility powered by green energy is in the corner stone of our strategy as a company. We’re looking forward to work with Candela to explore the possibilities for P-12 lines in the region”, said Gómez.
Ceuta’s President-Mayor, Juan Jesús Vivas, said, in summary of the technology’s core benefits, “We slash energy use by 80%, eliminate emissions, and enable fast, smooth crossings at a fraction of the cost—opening the door to entirely new, sustainable ferry routes across the Mediterranean.”
Electric ferry passages throughout Europe are run by almost 60 different operators across the continent. Ferry journeys in countries like Greece are marred by toxic emissions that not only pollute the local air, but also make the journey unpleasant for passengers, with strong fumes making time on deck a smelly affair. The significant fuel savings, speed and comfort of electric hydrofoil ferries may be able to prompt a more rapid decarbonisation of this sector.
In January this year, Spanish ferry operator Baleària announced it would operate the first fully electric ferry line between Tarifa, Spain, and Tangier, Morocco. Over the next two years, electric catamarans will be built at the Armon shipyard in Gijón and put into operation on the intercontinental route.
Candela hydrofoils are already operating in Stockholm’s public transport system in Sweden, while the Candela P-12 is confirmed for operators in Berlin, Lake Tahoe, USA, Sudi Arabia’s NEOM, as well as in New Zealand.
0 Comments