Candela P-12 completes world’s longest electric sea journey

This, Candela said, demonstrates that electric passenger vessels are no longer confined to short, fixed routes or dependent on charging infrastructure.

To demonstrate how hydrofoil technology overcomes the limitations of high energy consumption and the limited range that has restricted electric ferries to short, predefined routes, Candela P-12 set out on a 160-nautical-mile journey.

It claimed this is the longest ever by an electric passenger ship – from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Oslo, Norway. The P-12 is the world’s first serial-production electric hydrofoil ferry, said Candela in a statement, adding that beneath its hull, computer-controlled submerged wings lift the vessel above the water at speeds exceeding 20 knots, reducing energy consumption by around 80% compared with conventional vessels and enabling long-distance travel at high speed.

Candela P-12 has a service speed of 25 knots and has exceeded 30 knots during trials, with a range of up to 40 nautical miles at cruising speed on a single charge.

The mission was to reach Oslo, where several electric high-speed ferries are already in service.

Candela said, “The contrast between these conventional electric vessels and Candela P-12 is striking. Oslo’s fastest electric passenger ferry, Baronen, operates a fixed 10-nautical-mile route and relies on swapping a deck-mounted battery container with several megawatt-hours of capacity at the end of each trip. The automated battery-swapping system alone has cost hundreds of millions of Norwegian kroner. While several swap stations have been completed, the system has faced delays and cost overruns, and deployment of additional stations has been delayed, limiting route flexibility.

“By contrast, Candela P-12’s efficiency allows it to charge from standard, easily deployable automotive DC fast chargers.” During the journey to Oslo, the vessel charged using a portable 360-kW Skagerak Energi Move DC charger connected to a mobile battery system, towed behind a Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup.

“Charging infrastructure is the hidden cost of electrifying conventional vessels,” said Candela project engineer and lead engineer for the voyage, Gabriele De Mattia. “In many cases, building megawatt-scale chargers – especially where the grid is weak or undeveloped – can cost as much as the vessels themselves. The breakthrough with P-12 is that it is fast to charge and extremely flexible in where it can operate.”

The 160-nautical-mile journey was completed over three days, with demonstration and charging stops along the route. The Candela crew charged along Sweden’s existing DC fast-charging network using Aqua SuperPower stations, and where fixed chargers were unavailable, relied on the towable battery system provided by Skagerak Energi.

Candela said that the total electricity cost for the journey amounted to just over US$235.