Car-maker GM to have a crack at electric boats
GM invests heavily in an electric outboard motor maker to get more mileage from its EV-driven futureGeneral Motors, the fourth-largest car-maker worldwide, has invested heavily in a US company producing modular electric outboard motors for recreational boats.
GM announced overnight it has invested $US150 million ($A207) to snap up a quarter share in Washington state-based Pure Watercraft, which makes electric motors for boats.
The investment reflects GM’s ambitions to become more than just an electric car maker once fossil fuels become scarce and governments worldwide roll out increasingly strict restrictions on where vehicles using internal combustion engines can go and are sold.
“Building upon GM’s existing efforts to strategically deploy our technology across rail, truck and aerospace industries, the combined expertise of these two enterprises should result in future zero-emissions marine product offerings, providing consumers with more choice than before,” GM global electrification, controls, software and electronics vice-president Dan Nicholson said.
Pure Watercraft uses a traditional-looking outboard engine leg adapted to a 25kW electric motor. The key to the technology is a modular system that can pack up to 10 8.85kWh batteries on a boat to provide enough range and performance.
The outboard motor weighs only 51kg and the bespoke propeller spins only to 1500rpm. Range? That’s a rubbery figure, but it looks like it will go around 20 nautical miles in some configurations.
High-cost tech
A complete system including a single battery costs $US16,500 – much more than a conventional outboard engine of the same performance. Adding a second battery jumps the price by $US8500. Recharging time, meanwhile, is around five hours.
According to Pure Watercraft, the electric outboard motor “uses groundbreaking efficiency to benefit a boat’s performance while reducing environmental pollution, and boasts much lower operating cost and maintenance than traditional marine propulsion systems”.
The partnership will allow Pure Watercraft to tap into GM’s engineering, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities to help it develop and sell its motor.
The partnership also aims to allow the companies to develop and commercialise battery-electric watercraft and integrate GM technology into a variety of applications, along with the altruistic aim of accelerating the industry’s transition to electric mobility.
Electric pontoon prototype
GM has previously dipped a toe into electric boat waters with the reveal of the Forward Marine First pontoon boat, a prototype powered using GM Marine Engine-developed technology adapted from the electron-fuelled side of the petrol-electric Chevrolet Volt road car.
The First pontoon boat had a little more mumbo – 200hp of it compared with the Pure outboard’s modest 33hp – that could push it across the water to more than 20 knots, with a bank of batteries built in under its floor.
The First project appears to have stalled shortly after the prototype was revealed in 2019.
GM has announced it will spend almost $US30 billion electrifying its car showroom, with 30 new battery-powered models due by 2025.
It aims to go completely emissions-free by 2035.
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