Two-seater electric hydrofoil gets big investment
Slovenia’s Quadrofoil announced March 13 that it has received €3M in funding to accelerate the production and marketing of its impressive electric hydrofoil watercraft and technology.
This is great news. Quadrofoil first appeared on the scene in 2014 and has inevitably gone through the financing struggles that greet any grand vision of the future. Along the way it received the Most Significant Innovation Award for Electric Vehicles at the IDTechEx Show in 2018.
The machine is similar in some ways to the SeaBubbles water taxi hydrofoil that made such a commotion at the Miami Boat show, but the Quadrofoil is a two seater open side model.
The machine, which comes in three models, definitely has some remarkable features. The most immediately notable is the C‐Shape hydrofoils that enable it to rise above the water at just over 12 km/h (6.5 knots) when the ‘foils down’ button is initiated on the steering ‘wheel’.
Impressive technology
As you can see, the looks are pretty spectacular, too. The trimaran hull coupled with the foils makes it look like something out of the next century, and with its open sides it could make for an impressive scene – as is – in the next Star Wars episode.
Getting back to performance, the steering mechanism controls the motor and all four foils. The front and rear foils operate independently, giving Quadrofoil a 7 metre (23 feet) turning radius.
‘It feels like flying!’
There are 3.2kw and 5.5kw motors used in the three models (Q2A, Q2S and Q2S Limited Edition) and enabling a top speed of just over 20 knots: 40kmh/25mph. The Quadrofoil is powered by two industry standard Lithium-ion battery packs that can be charged from a standard 110V/220V outlet in 3-4 hours.
People who have driven the machine have the same comments as those who’ve experienced hydrofoil electric jetboards like the Lift and Flite: It feels like flying!”
The new €3M investment is coming through Switzerland-based AlpVent AG, a start-up focused firm which offers ‘smart money support’ that includes management consulting services in additon to investment capital.
Marjan M. Rožman, Quadrofoil President & CEO said “AlpVents’ investment is a powerful signal that we are the innovative leader in our field and a confirmation that we have done things right in the past. This platform of cooperation will give us the very much needed boost of fresh energy to deliver on our past promises and focus on developing new eco-friendly water transport solutions.”
He also noted that current production capacities of Quadrofoil are full until July 2019. Quadrofoil has received more than 1,300 dealership requests from127 countries and has re-started accepting pre-orders for the 2nd half of 2019.
The Quadrofoil experience starts at 19.950,00 € for the Q2A. Visit the Quadrofoil website to pre-order.
could this be a way to break the water speed record