Project description
Revolutionising electric propulsion at sea
The shift to cleaner seas is on course, but most boats and ships still rely on combustion engines that emit CO2, NOx, and oil residues into the water. The EIC-funded ZPARQ-Z10 project aims to introduce a next-generation electric propulsion system that redefines efficiency and design. Its cooling system makes the motor up to 10 times smaller and lighter than existing POD motors, while boosting efficiency by 15 % and cutting total ownership costs by 40 %. The modular, low-footprint system fits any vessel type (from sailboats to ferries) and halves the environmental impact of production. The goal is to scale power, enhance smart energy management, and validate performance through pilot projects with real users.
Objective
Sea leisure and commercial vessels, as well as other watercraft, are mainly based on combustion engines which release large amounts of CO2 and other emissions (NOx, SOx, CO…), as well as, pollute water due to fuel and oil leakages. While regulations are promoting new electric systems, current designs are still far from maximum efficiency as these are based on internal combustion engine designs. At Zparq, we have developed an innovative cooling system that allows us to reduce the size of our POD motor, which is now 10 times smaller in weight and volume than any other existing POD motor in the market. This enables a breakthrough outrunner direct drive technology that brings lower TCO (-40%), lower energy cost and higher efficiencies (+15%), lower drag and longer range for a given energy consumption. On top of that, thanks to our novel engineering design, the footprint associated to the manufacturing of our system is reduced 50% compared to existing competitors. Plus, our system is highly modular and flexible and can be installed in any configuration like outboard, azimut thruster, saildrive, sterndrive or hydrofoil and can be scaled to any power range.
Now we aim at optimising our system, scale it to higher power ranges, finalise the control platform including energy management and smart sailing features and validate our solution through several pilots in different type of end users.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC-ACC - HORIZON EIC Accelerator
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2025-ACCELERATOR-02
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
131 73 NACA
Sweden
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.