Candela electric ferry sets new distance record

Plus, battery startups come of age with huge new fundraising series

In today’s edition:

— Candela electric ferry sets new distance record from Gothenburg, Sweden to Oslo, Norway

— Battery power comes of age as startups mature with massive fund raises

— The Doomsday glacier in Antarctica is melting, and scientists are racing to find out why

— Texas oil and gas plants reported a surge in pollution during last week’s big freeze

— Seven in 10 Americans think climate change is happening, but some still resist, report says

Candela’s P-12 electric ferry has made its longest journey yet, from Sweden to Norway. Photo: Candela.

It’s been a few years since Callaway Climate Insights caught a ride on one of Candela Technology’s sporty electric speedboats in San Francisco Bay, but the Swedish electric boat maker founded by Gustav Hasselskog a decade ago is still making waves back home.

Candela announced this week that one of its P-12 electric ferries completed what it claims is the longest journey yet, a three-day, 160-nautical mile excursion from Gothenburg on Sweden’s West Coast to Oslo, Norway. Rather than rely on costly, permanent charging stations set up in strategic locations, Candela relied in part on a portable charging station towed behind a Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, which it said cost less than €200 ($236).

Norway and Sweden are leaders in electrifying their ferry fleets but like with electric cars and trucks, the main challenge to scaling the industry is the availability and cost of charging the vehicles. Expensive permanent charging stations along ferry routes have been met with public exasperation and, in many cases, have exceeded the cost of the vehicles themselves.

Many of the 70 operating electric ferries in Norway use costly battery swapping techniques to complete voyages and are plagued at some of the more remote ports by weak electrical grids. In Sweden, plans for a major electric ferry connection to Denmark have been delayed by grid infrastructure issues.

Candela has raised more than $116 million in at least three funding rounds in the past several years, and Hasselskog has indicated it is moving toward an eventual public offering. For investors in the electrified transportation industry, especially in Europe, it’s one to watch.

If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at
dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.

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