Candela and Polestar announced a partnership in August last year that would result in automotive-grade EV batteries hitting the seas in long-range electric boats. Now the day has come for the two Swedish companies to show the fruits of their partnership with the new Candela C-8 “Powered by Polestar”.
candelas The 8.5 meter (28 foot) electric boat C-8 has been in the works for some time and marks a significant improvement over the previous C-7.
The C-8 uses hydrofoiling technology controlled by high-precision, custom-designed flight control software that allows the boat to fly almost a meter above the water’s surface. This significantly reduces the boat’s water resistance by taking the hull out of the water, which uses about 80% less energy than traditional boats. With higher efficiency, the C-8 can go further with a smaller battery pack and less powerful motors than most other electric motor boats.
With the new C-8 Powered by Polestar, that range now gets an even bigger boost. The range of the new model is now 57 nautical miles (65 miles or 105 kilometers) per charge at a cruising speed of 22 knots (25 mph or 40 km/h). The C-8 can reach a top speed of 30 knots (34 mph or 55 km/h), albeit with reduced range at top speed.
The 69kWh Polestar batteries not only bring greater range to Candela’s boats, but also the ability to charge the battery quickly using DC power. When DC fast charging is not in use, the boat charges via Polestar’s 11kW three-phase AC charger.
According to Candela, the 57 nautical mile range is “2 to 3 times longer than what conventional electric speedboats can achieve at high speed and compares favorably to internal combustion engine powerboat use cases.”
As Candela’s Founder and CEO Gustav Hasselskog expanded:
“This collaboration means the C-8 can travel to destinations previously only accessible by internal combustion engine boats. The Candela C-8 powered by Polestar marks a major breakthrough in electrification at sea.
Candela believes this range is sufficient for most boaters. The company shared this usage data Europe’s leading boat sharing service Agapi shows that 95% of their members’ day trips are less than 50 nautical miles or well within range of the 8-passenger Candela C-8.
For boaters who need longer range or who want to charge and get back on the water quickly, the new DC fast charging feature should prove quite attractive.
Hasselskog continued:
“With access to DC fast chargers now appearing on multiple coasts around the globe, Candela C-8 will take you to entirely new distances. You can drive from Sweden to Finland in a day or along the entire Côte d’Azur in a few hours. For a few euros/dollars of electricity.”
This is a first for North Star, making Candela the first third-party company to receive Polestar batteries and charging systems. But it’s part of a wider partnership between the two EV companies ahead of production of the C-8 Powered by Polestar in the first half of 2023.
As Polestar’s CEO Thomas Ingenlath explained:
“Sharing battery and vehicle technology expertise with Candela will help achieve our common goal of making the transition to a future where all modes of transport are sustainable.”
Electrek’s take
That definitely makes sense for Candela. They’re an incredible boat builder, but batteries aren’t their forte. So we teamed up with another Swedish EV company does Having battery expertise seems logical.
And the fact that it gives boats longer range and offers fast charging capability only sweetens the deal further.
I haven’t tested the new C-8 with Polestar batteries, but I did take an early C-8 prototype for a spin an eye-opening test drive experience last summer. Check it out in my video below.
(embed)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvldC99-2oQ(/embed)
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