Torqeedo Powers Electric Foiling Boat

“It really is like flying,” Mikael Mahlberg, communications director for Candela Boats in Sweden, told Soundings Trade Only about the Candela Seven, which brings together its foiling vessel and Torqeedo electric propulsion.

The world’s first fully electric foiling vessel utilizes Torqeedo’s Deep Blue 50i — the equivalent of 80 hp — to propel the 25-foot Candela Seven to a reported top speed of nearly 30 knots. At 20 knots, the boat has 57-mile range.

“If you want to go far and fast with a battery, foiling is the only way,” Mahlberg said.

Candela founder and CEO Gustav Hasselskog was inspired by both Tesla automobiles and foiling sailboats, realizing that all-electric craft have limited range and speed. The foils provide an advantage once the boat reaches its foiling speed — approximately 14½ knots.

“The energy consumption drops 80 percent in hydrofoil mode; that gives us a range similar to a gasoline engine,” Hasselskog said in a statement. “The boat runs very smoothly on its hydrofoils. There’s no slamming into waves and no noise.”

Engineers at Torqeedo were impressed with Candela’s carbon fiber boat.

“The Candela Seven combines minimum energy consumption with maximum performance,” Torqeedo managing director Ralf Plieninger said. “The electric hydrofoil is a game-changer for marine electric mobility.”