hydrofoil

Hydrofoil cycling is among the more intriguing young water sports out there, but it can also be rather intimidating for the uninitiated. Something seems quite unnatural about trying to balance a narrow frame on top of water while at the same time pedaling vigorously to lift it up out of that water, then trying hard to keep it hovering and balanced. But what if you could sit on a stable platform similar to a kayak, lean back and pedal your way to launching the high-flying, low-drag glide for which hydrofoils are prized?…

Back in 2019, we took a look at the WaveFlyer, a public-private project billed as the world's first electric hydrofoil jet ski. Around that very same time, up on the other side of the equator, France's Neocean was developing its own e-hydrofoil PWC, a very different take from the Aussie-designed Waveflyer. The company's sit-atop Overboat starts its ride as a stable catamaran before lifting one or two passengers overtop the water to hit speeds up to 20 knots, or on-water runtimes up to two hours. Hydrofoils and electric…

Back in 2019 we heard about the sleek electric Bubble Taxi, a five-seat enclosed hydrofoil created by French manufacturer SeaBubbles. The company has now announced a bigger and faster model, simply called the SeaBubble.Unveiled in full-size form this month at the Cannes Yachting Festival, the SeaBubble is 8 meters long by 3.5 m wide (26.25 by 11.5 ft ft), accommodates up to 12 passengers, is propelled by two 45-kW motors, and is powered by a hybrid system incorporating both hydrogen fuel cells and a lithium-ion battery…

Polestar 2 battery pack Geely-owned Polestar has signed a multi-year agreement to supply battery and charging systems to Swedish hydrofoil electric boat company, Candela. The agreement marks one of the world’s first direct battery technology collaborations between companies from the automotive and marine industries. The supply of battery and charging systems to a third party, a first for Polestar as an EV…

With new consumer technologies, it's often the case that big corporations will join the party once smaller startups have tested the waters. Such is the case with major Canadian manufacturer Sea-Doo, which has just announced its upcoming Rise electric hydrofoil board.Regular readers of New Atlas will know that electric hydrofoil boards (or eFoils) have been around for a few years now. They're offered by a variety of small-ish companies, such as Awake Boards, Lift Foils, Level HydroFoils, UniFoil, Fliteboard, Waydoo,…

Wind power is a promising source of green energy and one that could feature in the production of green hydrogen. UK startup Drift Energy shows a different spin on that idea. Instead of creating windmill-derived electricity, its plan involves using AI-routed hydrofoil sailing yachts to generate the electricity required for electrolysis. Those yachts would then deliver green hydrogen to ports around the world for use as a power source. Drift plans its yacht-based energy system as a highly flexible, decentralized generation…

While the electrification of cars is moving at a fast pace, passenger ferries continue to be almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels. That’s because the current battery capacity isn’t enough to juice these large ships for longer distances. Scientists at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the SSPA marine research facility have found a way to bypass this problem — using hydrofoils. Hydrofoils aren’t a novel idea, and they’re commonly used by…

It was just this February that we heard about the first "flight" of Candela's C-8 electric hydrofoil. Now, the Swedish company has announced its latest model, the better-appointed P-8 Voyager.Debuting this Monday (May 30th) at the Salone Nautico show in Venice, the P-8 measures 8.6 m long by 2.5 m wide (28.2 by 8.2 ft), has a carbon fiber hull, and is powered by a 50-kW Candela C-POD electric motor. The latter takes it to a cruising speed of 20 knots (37 km/h or 23 mph), and a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h or 35…