Candela C-Pod electric outboard motor launched
Candela launches the C-Pod, a twin-motor electric outboard system that sits entirely in the waterIt looks a little like a twin-prop torpedo, but according to one of the world's leading makers of electric boat technology, this is the battery-powered outboard motor of the future.
Swedish electric foiling boat maker Candela has now branched out into making electric pod motors, launching a torpedo-styled device called the C-Pod that sits entirely below the waterline.
The Candela C-Pod is made for a foiling boat and includes wide fins stretching out each side to provide the lift needed to get a hull up and out of the water.
It uses two compact permanent magnets to turn contra-rotating propellors – the forward one a six-bladed prop and the aft one a five-blade – with enough propulsion in store to drive its Candela C7 along at 30 knots.
According to Candela, the design of the new submersible electric motor can provide “unrivalled range and efficiency”.
“Electric direct-drive means no noise from gears, no oil changes and no maintenance,” it said in a release announcing the new drive system. “By placing the motors under the water, we get rid of typical squeaking and whirring sounds from gearboxes and mechanical transmissions.”
Candela also said the C-Pod would “last a lifetime, without needing service,” although it does state that the motor will need one after 3000 hours, the equivalent of four months of continuous operation.
According to the group, the C-Pod’s contra-rotating props provide efficiency of around 80 per cent, compared with 70 per cent for a conventional outboard engine.
Friction is minimised, with the motor design giving 23 per cent more range than the best electric outboard motors already on the market, Candela claims.
Its compact size also gives it a much higher power density than its competitors, it says.
Candela was launched in 2014 with the aim of developing a lightweight hydrofoiling electric boat featuring a forward foil close to the boat’s centre of gravity, and another smaller foil aft.
The foils lift the hull of the group’s only product so far, the carbon-fibre Candela C7, up out of the water to reduce drag by half compared with a conventional planing hull design.
The foils also retract so the boat can enter shallow water or dock.
The Candela C7 is capable of travelling 50 nautical miles at 20 knots on a full charge of its 40kWh battery pack adapted from the BMW i3 electric car.
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