Candela Is Building the Future of Waterborne Transport
TLDR
- Candela’s hydrofoiling electric ferry P-12 is in live commuter service across Scandinavian cities with 80% lower energy use than conventional ships.
Key Takeaways
- Candela raised €30 million in its largest round to date, bringing total capital raised to €129 million; new investor includes the IFC, part of the World Bank Group.
- The P-12 hydrofoil lifts above water to cut drag, reducing energy consumption by up to 80% and eliminating wake compared to traditional ferries.
- Vessels are operating in scheduled commuter service in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, and Trondheim, demonstrating real-world performance at lower operating costs with zero emissions.
- Over 65 vessels are on order; from 2026, deployments are planned in Mumbai, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project, and Thailand.
- Candela is building a second carbon-fiber production facility in Poland using a platform-based manufacturing model to scale output.
Why It Matters
- Rising fuel costs shift transport economics in favor of technologies with structurally lower operating costs, not just sustainability credentials.
- Urban waterways have historically been underused due to slow, costly, high-emission ferries; hydrofoiling changes the unit economics that blocked adoption.
- A platform manufacturing model applied to maritime vessels is rare; if it works at scale, it changes how quickly new cities can be served.
· 2026-04-01 · Read the original
