Electric-powered boats create a splash at CES 2023 in Las Vegas

Consumer Electronics Show 2023 is not making rounds for its displays of flying cars and self-driving vehicles from its editions of previous earlier years. This year, the gadget show in Las Vegas is in headlines forelectric recreational boats that have grabbed attention of tech-mobility enthusiasts worldwide.

Swedish company Candela this week unveiled an 8.5-meter electric-powered hydrofoil speedboat that can cruise for over two hours at 20 knots, or about 37 kmph. California startup Navier tried to outdo its Scandinavian rival by bringing an electric hydrofoil that’s a little bit longer, though Candela is further along in getting its products to customers,Associated Pressreported.

The electric push to sea mobility

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The rising fuel costs and environment-related concerns have boosted global entrepreneurial efforts to roll out electric-powered boats. The innovation has furthered up with sleek designs that lift the hull above the water’s surface at higher speeds.

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"You can have a wine glass and it does not spill,"Navier CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya was quoted as saying byAssociated Press last month.

"And it’s quiet, extremely quiet. You can have a conversation, unlike on a gas boat."

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Stockholm-based startup Candela said that it has already sold and manufactured 150 of its brand-new C-8 model.

But with a roughly $400,000 price tag, neither the C-8 nor Navier’s N30 is aiming to replace the aluminum boat used to fish on the lake. Multiple media reports describe them asTeslas of the sea, with hopes that what starts off as a luxury vehicle could eventually help transform the marine industry.

Making water ways more accessible but big costs a concern

According to Navier CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya, there is a huge untapped opportunity in boating. "Today, boats are looked at something like a wealthy person's toy. With technology, making the waterways more accessible will open up a huge new mode of transportation that we have never imagined before. If you are able to make small vessels move things and people on the water, suddenly the waterways are no more an obstacle and every marina can turn into a train station stop, essentially," she is quoted as saying by AM870 News.

The early electric boat models, however, are expensive, heavy and could instill more serious “range anxiety” than what drivers have felt about electric cars, according toTruist Securities analyst Michael Swartz.

"You’re not anywhere near the type of electric boat where you can go 50 miles offshore and go fishing for a couple of hours and come back,"Swartz is quoted as saying by Associated Press.

(With inputs from agencies)

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