Project description
New engine design overcomes market barriers to electric boats
The number of commercial and recreational boats in Europe exceeds 6 million. Limited performance and high costs are acting as barriers for larger market uptake of electric boats. Sweden-based company pHatching has developed an innovative design solution that overcomes cost constraints related to outboard motors that run on electricity. The new engine design enables stacking multiple motors. The company takes advantage of the established supply chain and high-volume standard components from the automotive industry to dramatically lower production and maintenance costs. Electric vehicle batteries are also getting a second life. The result is a high-performance electric outboard motor of up to 200 hp, approximately 53 % cheaper than current electric outboards. The EU-funded eOutboard project aims to validate and demonstrate this novel solution paving the way for its commercialisation.
Objective
In Europe there are 4.8m boats with outboard engines and 99% percent of them run on petrol or diesel. These conventional boat motors are highly polluting (emitting CO2, methane, carbon monoxide and other substances), burn a massive amount of fossil fuel and are excessively noisy. So why aren’t we electrifying boats like we’re electrifying cars?
Small and light boats can indeed run on electric engines; however, the current outboard solutions have performance limitations and are very expensive. Larger boats require powerful, higher-performance electric engines (over 80 horsepower) which are cost prohibitive due to the low availability of components and the resulting high production costs associated with them.
We at pHatching have the solution. We offer a new electric outboard engine design with a customised belt-drive and horizontal drive shaft, allowing us to stack multiple small engines in a modular system. At the same time, we take advantage of the established supply chain and high-volume standard components from the auto industry to dramatically lower the cost of production and maintenance (53% less than current outboard solutions), thereby eliminating the major market barrier to adoption of viable high-performance electric marine engines. We also provide a useful second life for used electric vehicle batteries.
As a result of combining a new design with an innovative use of auto parts, our new electric outboard engine is: (1) green, quiet and powerful (up to 200 hp); (2) easily retrofitted into existing boats; (3) modular and scalable and (4) highly efficient in terms of production and operation.
pHatching was founded in 1989 in Sweden. Our innovation fulfils a large opportunity in the marine industry, enabling electrification of marine transport. A 5-year projection sees an Internal Rate of Return of 51%, with a cumulative EBITDA of more than €8.4m. For the first time, an electric outboard engine can compete with conventional engines on price and performance.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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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- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry hydrocarbons
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering automotive engineering
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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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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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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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.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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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) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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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.
40271 GOTEBORG
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.