Electric passenger ship startup Candela closed on its latest funding with another $14 million, announcing Thursday that it has sold its first ferry to Lake Tahoe in the United States.
Candela manufactures a range of all-electric hydrofoils. This means that as speed increases, the body of the boat lifts out of the water with its fins. Although this looks a little unstable, it's actually quite stable (I've flown it myself) and helps reduce water drag, increase range, and smooth out the ride. .
Earlier this year, the Swedish company raised $25 million in a Series C round to, among other things, finance the deployment of the P-12 (i.e. 12 meters, approximately 30 passengers) ferry to its first customers. The first P-12s naturally operated in Stockholm, but have since gone on to do various immediacy trades in New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Berlin, and now Tahoe.
This first U.S.-based boat (of which there is only one at this time) will sail a north-south route, giving people who live near or visiting the picturesque lake a way to travel without driving. I will make it possible. Tahoe's roads can get very congested during high season or when closed due to snowfall, so having more options for commuters and tourists will definitely be welcome.
The company has only built and actively deployed a few boats so far, but is now building on a larger scale. Candela recently celebrated its 100th boat built (which includes smaller C-7 and C-8 speedboats). The new funding will be used to expand P-12 production in Stockholm.
Other electric boat companies are also making moves, including Zin and Navier. Zin takes the top-down approach typical of Tesla, focusing first on luxury civilian ships to drive down prices, while Navier is more of a follow-up to Candela. Small passenger markets like the Bay Area.
The Series C extension round (technically up to $40 million) was led by SEB Private Equity, with participation from existing investors EQT Ventures and KanDela AB.