Evoy electric boat motors charge up with €7.3M funding round
Smiles all around as Evoy electric boat motors of Norway is the latest e-marine company to announce a successful funding round: €7.3 million Euros (US$ 7.66M) slated for development, research and expanding markets for their high performance electric inboard and outboard systems.
In addition to multiple follow-up investments from current shareholders, the funding attracted an array of high profile and influential investors with interest in the clean future of mobility. Co-leaders of the round are:
- Klaveness Marine, an asset management company whose investments areas include shipping and new energy. Their philosophy in that regard is “We believe the transition to a sustainable energy system will be driven as much by economics as climate concerns and policies.”
- Grieg Edge, the innovation unit within the Grieg Maritime Group, a major shipping industry corporation. Greig Edge recently partnered with marine and energy company Wärtsilä on a green ammonia tanker vessel which Popular Science magazine named one of the ‘100 Greatest Innovations Of 2021’.
- Link Venture Capital is one of the most active investors in the Nordics focusing on accelerating the energy transition and building more tech and cleantech scale ups. They were also part of one of Evoy’s earlier fundings, a $1M round in December of 2019.
Other notable investors include:
- Jakob Hatteland, who built up the AutoStore, the warehouse-packing robot company into Norway’s first ‘unicorn’ (start up with $1Billion valuation)
- Petter Muren, one of Norway’s most successful inventors and founder of the Norwegian drone developer Prox Dynamics.
- Johan Brand, co-founder of learntech company Kahoot, whose game-based platform has been played by more than a billion people globally.
- Martin Anderlind, who has been with Northvolt batteries since 2016 and was appointed Chief of Special Projects in February. Northvolt founder and CEO Peter Carlsson was in the electric boat news himself last month recently as one of the investors in X Shore’s round of $50M a announced last month.
Evoy 1 hit speed record of 55 knots / 100 km/h
Evoy was founded in 2018 Florø, Norway, by CEO Leif Stavøstrand. Growing up by the ocean in Norway, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Architecture and a Masters of Business Administration and saw the opportunities for electric propulsion in the aquaculture industry. One of the company’s early investors and a board member is Alf-Helge Aarskog, former CEO of Mowi, the world’s biggest Atlantic salmon farmer.
Read about the beginnings of Evoy
After building a team and developing the prototype motors and battery systems, Evoy signed a contract with work boat manufacturer Helgeland Plast to install the first system in an 8.6 metre / 28 foot Polarcircle 860. ‘Evoy 1’ was christened by Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solsberg in August of 2019.
That November the boat hit a speed record of 55 knots – over 100 km/h and to top off the year Evoy was awarded the SPIR 2019 Award as Norway’s top green technology start-up.
The company was also busy raising raising capital from private sources, Innovation Norway, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and was accepted into the Katapult Ocean accelerator program for ‘startups that will have positive impact on oceans .’
In addition to a grant of €2.3M in the early years, the EIC Fund continues it support as a cornerstone investor with a €3m investment in this funding round.
Read about all the recent investments in electric boats and motors
Talking about this most recent financing round, Stavøstrand said: “It is truly inspiring to see the strong support and enthusiasm from old and new investors. This is an incredibly important milestone for Evoy electric boat motors in our path to make boating irresistible, eliminating emissions and building a great global brand.”
Evoy electric boat motors: 90 kW to 30 kW
Evoy’s focus is on high output longer range electric motor systems, both inboard and outboard. They have a BREEZE 90 kiloWatt (120HP) electric outboard available now, with 150, 225 and 300 kW motors set for launching in 2023 and 2024.
The inboard line, with the same power outputs, are turnkey setups designed for +1000 hours per year. The systems can be connected to a Z-drive, water jet, or shaft and is designed for boats 25-35 ft with a single motor propulsion and 30-50 ft for twin systems. The 90kW and 300kW motors available now.
“The maritime sector will have implemented a varied mix of energy sources and propulsion systems in the future. We are confident that Evoy and their technology will be among the preferred solutions. That makes Evoy a perfect fit in our venture portfolio,” says Head of Ocean Ventures in Grieg Edge, Kjerstin Hernes.
The capital raised will enable Evoy to continue to focus on developing new generations and levels of their world leading electric motor systems, lift and accelerate the marketing and sales, and optimize operations such as sourcing, manufacturing, and supply chain to cut cost and increase capacity to meet the high demand from all over the world.
Henrik Lund, Head of New Energy in Klaveness Marine, Comments: “We are strong believers in electrification. Evoy is accelerating the transition to electric boats and truly has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the forthcoming electrification of maritime transport”
