Global e-foiler race heats up: zero emissions, but plenty of possibilities

In the US, Washington State’s Kitsap Transit has received US$5.2M in grants for the design of an all-electric, hydrofoil fast ferry, and its shoreside charging infrastructure. The public transit agency has plans for a demonstration vessel based on an e-foiling design, jointly developed by Washington State ship design and marine engineering firms Glosten and Bieker Boats.

The demonstrator would be a scaled-downed version of Glosten and Bieker Boats’ 150-passenger Foil Ferry.

The initiative faced some uncertainty in November, when a ballot proposal sought to repeal the state’s Climate Commitment Act, which is providing funding for the e-foil demonstrator.

In a social media post, Glosten shared a ‘sneak peek’ of the demonstrator and noted it had identified, with Kitsap Transit, a site for shoreside charging infrastructure that could be used by the ferry at the Bremerton terminal.

“We expect to put this zero-emissions, high-speed demonstrator to the test on Puget Sound in 2026,” said Glosten.

Meanwhile, other international e-foiler pioneers have their eyes set on the US waterfront. New Zealand-based Vessev has opened its first international office in the US. It has appointed Josh Trout as Vessev’s director of North America. In this role, Mr Trout established Vessev’s US operations, oversees the production of Vessev craft in the US, and develops and streamlines the company’s business development.

Mr Trout joins Vessev from another pioneer in the e-foiling space, Candela, where he served as director, US sales and operations.

The move follows the successful launch of commercial operations for an e-foiler tourism service in New Zealand, using a Vessev VS-9. New Zealand’s largest ferry operator, Fullers360, launched The Electric Hydrofoil Experience in early 2025 with Kermadec, an eight-passenger, 9-m-long vessel, following commercial approval in early December by regulator Maritime New Zealand. Fullers360 offers regular 40-minute tourism cruises in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

A nine-month pilot project began in Stockholm in October 2024 using Nova, a new Candela 100% electric P-12 model hydrofoil ferry, providing public transport services. Candela was named one of Time’s World’s Top Greentech Companies of 2025.

Last year, the Swedish company was awarded its first order in the US for a P-12 electric hydrofoil ferry with FlyTahoe and has secured orders for eight vessels for Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project. It is establishing additional manufacturing in Eastern Europe, alongside US plans.

And as Riviera has previously reported, Belfast-based Artemis Technologies has secured orders for pilot boats and ferries for European operators, and established a US presence in the Brooklyn Navy, headed up by the company’s co-founder, David Tyler. Some of the firm’s first models for the US will be larger 150-passenger e-foiling ferries built at Delta Marine, Seattle, under an agreement with Artemis Technologies.

Back in Europe, the UK’s Chartwell Marine announced in March its electric foiling high-speed trimaran demonstrator was undergoing sea trials on Southampton water. Funded by a UK government grant under the InnovateUK CMDC programme, this project explores the feasibility of a cost-effective, zero-emissions foiling ferry. Data from this trial phase will be used to shape the development of a full-scale, 24-m, 40-passenger foiling ferry.