EV Magazine May 2023 | Page 29

Sharing insight into the EV landscape in Norway , Mahlberg says : “ Electric cars are sort of taking over on the roads , but for boats , the sales are super low — maybe less than 0.1 % are all-electric boats .”

“ Up until now , there hasn ’ t really been a viable option because conventional boat hulls use so much energy , so just dropping conventional lithium ion batteries into those boats results in disappointing ranges at high speeds .”

But , there are two angles to look at electric boats . The first being the untapped capacity for transport between islands and along coastlines , the other being the sustainable benefits of leveraging waterborne capabilities . Effectively , larger bodies of water form a testing ground for widespread use of hydrofoil technologies .

Branching out early from its automotive roots , Polestar ’ s technology developments made their way into marine life thanks to its strategic partnership with Candela .

While localising innovation and driving sustainable transport via the sea and other large water bodies , Polestar is a key partner for ensuring that Candela boats are able to meet the range requirements of conventional diesel-powered watercraft . The C-8 model is powered by the same battery pack and charging technology as the Polestar 2 , making it the brand ’ s seaborne cousin .

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