Sealence’s electric hydrojet raises millions in crowdfunding

Sealence, the Italian electric hydrojet start-up, has announced its raised over 2.9m euro via crowdfunding.

This means the company will create six new roles – five design engineers in the R&D team and a strategist expert in international finance.

The team will be in place to work on an extension of its DeepSpeed jet range. This is said to be a completely new kind of electric propulsion system, with a radical new pod-shaped waterjet. The idea is to give an electric boat the speed and range to rival petrol or diesel powered ones.

Sealence now says its strategy is to position DeepSpeed jets in the market for large luxury yachts and large commercial boats. As such, it will not continue with developing less powerful models, instead it will focus on its 420 and 780.

The DS 420 is characterised by having a power of 220kW and 560 Nm of torque, which in peak conditions can generate a thrust equivalent to a 420 horsepower engine (360 bhp equivalent, instead, in continuous use), says Sealence. This jet has been designed for fast recreational hulls, and it has been optimised for speeds around 40-45 knots, where it reaches its maximum propulsive efficiency.

The DS 780 is characterised by having 500kw and 1500Nm of torque, which allows the generation of a continuous thrust equivalent to a 780 horsepower engine. This jet is designed to be mounted on work units or boats designed to sail hundreds of hours a year, according to Sealence. The jet has been optimised to reach its maximum efficiency in the speed range from 16 to 26 knots on semi-gliding hulls.