Latest news with #VessevVS-9
NZ Herald
03-08-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Fullers boss on electric ferries vs diesel as AT changes course
The Vessev VS-9's hydrofoiling technology was adapted from America's Cup yachts. Photo / Supplied At the same time, Fullers chief executive Mike Horne has come out as an advocate for electric ferries (and in the longer term, hydrogen-powered boats). The current set-up involves AT choosing the strategy, then paying for electric, hybrid or diesel ferries that run on publicly-subsidised routes, which are then operated by Fullers. So Fullers will run whatever types of ferries are commissioned by AT. But Horne says his firm, which is controlled by a private equity owner (that is, one of the bluntest expressions of the free market), thinks electric is the best financial option. He makes it clear that when he's spending his own company's money, he sees electric as the only way to go. 'New Zealand is a net importer of fossil fuels. By transitioning to domestically sourced energy options, such as hydroelectricity, we can reduce our reliance on imports and improve energy security,' says Fullers chief executive Mike Horne. Photo / Jason Oxenham 'Everyone gets a bit confused with the cost of building a boat and the cost of operating a boat over time,' Horne says. 'I look at the whole-of-life. 'And if I'm investing commercially, which I am, I'm going to the electric boats every time. 'Over time, they are materially cheaper than running a diesel boat. 'I'm certainly not looking to build new diesel boats for my commercial fleet for exactly that reason. They make no economic sense.' Cheaper to run 'In terms of op-ex [operating expenses], we've got three big costs: labour, maintenance and fuel. Taking out fossil fuel and putting in electricity is about 75% cheaper; that's a game-changer for an operational organisation over time. 'And the other one is R&M [repairs and maintenance]. A diesel engine needs to be replaced every five to seven years over 25 to 30 years. They've got 6000 moving parts and lots of vibration, that's what kills those engines – and they're really, really expensive.' The first electric ferries will have one major cost: replacing their 11 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries after eight to 10 years. The cost is estimated at $1 million, though EV Maritime says economies of scale might have taken effect in a decade's time. Horne says the electric ferries will be 'materially cheaper to run' than diesels but won't put a dollar value or percentage on it at this point, because the electric models have yet to go into service. Electric ferries and reliability EV Maritime's model will be Auckland's first electric ferry, but not the first in New Zealand. Wellington got a smaller electric ferry, the Ika Rere, in March 2022. However, it recently spent 10 months out of action, which was blamed on difficulties sourcing spare parts – a point picked up on by some Auckland councillors as they questioned the new technology's reliability. Horne said the Wellington boat was the result of 'a really bespoke process', while Fullers has been working with Whanganui's QWest (builder of the two hybrid ferries) and Christchurch's HamiltonJet (maker of the propulsion systems for the two hybrids and the two electric ferries) over three years 'and at every point we've been looking at the viability of specific parts'. 'And I'm not saying that as a boat builder chasing unicorns but as an operator of 40 years who knows exactly what we need to run big boats reliably.' The on-pier charging system was being built to a global standard. Second hydrofoiling electric boat Horne has put his money where his mouth is. Fullers put the initial investment into the two 300-passenger hybrid ferries, later integrated into AT's seven (now four) electric ferry build. The firm has also backed Auckland start-up Vessev and bought its first 10-passenger 'VS-9″ hydrofoiling electric boat, built at a cost of around $1m. The VS-9 is being used for harbour tour charters. This week, Fullers said it has added a second VS-9 to its fleet. The first was Vessev's prototype and not perfect. The Herald found it too loud for regular conversation. Horne says the first production model has a 'torpedo'-style engine beneath the water, eliminating the noise issue. Vessev, whose largest shareholders are Icehouse Ventures, Blackbird and Sir Stephen Tindall, says it will make its first international deliveries next year. Horne sees the VS-9 as a 'proof of concept' and stepping stone to a 100-passenger Vessev craft – for now, still on the drawing board. That would be a step up in cost (the first electric ferry, which seats 200, came in on budget at $20m). Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has recently been on a push to establish himself as a technology leader, through his successful lobbying to get the Government's new advanced research agency (in part replacing the Wellington-based Callaghan Innovation) hosted in his city and his creation of The Auckland Innovation & Technology Alliance and the creation of the Auckland Tech Council. But BusinessDesk tech commentator Peter Griffin recently saw 'technophobic dithering' in the AT's decision to 'double down on diesel-powered ferries'. AT's shift in sentiment away from electric ferries is out-and-out bad news for East Tāmaki-based EV Maritime, designer of Auckland's first two electric ferries. AT says Auckland's ferry fleet carries 6% of Auckland's commuters but produces 20% of all emissions from public transport as it burns through 13 million litres of diesel a year. The first electric ferry (pictured) will be zero-emission, but Fullers boss Mike Horne says it's also cheaper to leave diesel behind. Photo / Dean Purcell Horne, diplomatically, says he supports the mayor's innovation alliance. 'The opportunities for electrification, foiling and introducing other low-emission technologies to New Zealand are abundant. 'Kiwi innovation is both scalable and exciting, and we are well-positioned to continue pioneering a way forward using alternative energy sources. 'Switching to alternate fuels such as electric, foiling and hydrogen is a sound choice for the environment, and that's just where the benefits begin. As a commercial business, it makes firm economic sense and, better yet, it makes sense for New Zealand. 'These alternate fuel advancements are already on the world stage [EV Maritime has a deal with a design deal with a San Francisco ferry operator]; it's all proven technology, and it's our job to harness and scale it. 'New Zealand is a net importer of fossil fuels. By transitioning to domestically sourced energy options, such as hydroelectricity, we can reduce our reliance on imports and improve energy security,' said Horne. Deal or no deal? The Australian recently reported that Fullers' British owner, Souter, had 'tapped Cameron Partners' as it considered a possible sale of the ferry business. 'Fullers is not in any process at the moment,' Horne said. The chief executive said he constantly fielded interest in the business, which he always kicked upstairs to Souter. Fullers took some chunky hits during the pandemic as commuters disappeared during lockdowns. A chronic staff shortage followed. Its accounts for the year to March 31, 2024, showed the business in recovery with its net loss shrinking from $4.3m in FY2023 to $1.2m as its revenue rose from $70.2m to $80.2m. Contract income from AT rose from $39.4m to $43m. Its FY25 numbers are due shortly. Two-story megacharging building gets the go-ahead With the first electric ferry on the water (it's now undergoing several months of testing), the pressure is on to get megachargers online at Queens Wharf (that is, the downtown ferry terminal), Half Moon Bay and Hobsonville Point under a $27.6m contract signed with electrification firm ABB. Hobsonville Point is nowhere. Its charger will need pontoon upgrades to the local pier. That work is expected to be completed in 2026 but it might take until a 2028 funding round for the charger installation to be completed. At Half Moon Bay, things are almost good to go. 'The charger has been successfully pre-commissioned, and we are co-ordinating with vessel manufacturers on the timing of load testing as part of their broader testing and commissioning programmes,' AT programme director Nathan Cammock told the Herald earlier this week. The problem is that AT has said the first electric ferry will operate with 10-minute top-up charges at both ends as customers get on and off. However, when it arrives in the city from Half Moon Bay, there will be no megachargers. An artist's impression of the two-storey electric ferry charging building that will be located on the northeastern end of Queens Wharf. On June 10, as the first electric ferry was launched, the two-storey building that will house three 3.3 megawatt chargers did not even have resource consent. It's now over the line, but AT is vague on when construction will begin, let alone when it will be online. Earlier this week, Cammock said, 'The resource consent has been granted for the Downtown electric ferry charging infrastructure and works are now under way beneath the wharf to prepare for cable tray installation and cable pulling. 'With the consent now received, we are working to finalise our construction sequencing, including co-ordination with existing wharf activities, including events, cruise ship movements and public transport operations. 'We do not have an ETA to share at this time; however, our intention is to install and commission the three chargers in stages, taking into account any lessons learned and optimisations from Half Moon Bay as we gain operational experience.' Horne points out that the two hybrid ferries on the way for the Devonport-city. centre run will have diesel generators as a back-up, so they'll be able to run no matter how far behind AT is with its megacharger installation. Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald's business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
West Australian
11-06-2025
- West Australian
New zero-emission tourist ferry takes flight in Auckland
Visitors to Auckland can now glide over the waves of Waitemata Harbour in a new state-of-the-art electric hydrofoil ferry after New Zealand's largest ferry operator Fullers360 began tours onboard its new Vessev VS-9 ferry Kermadec earlier this year. The ferry's innovative electric hydrofoil technology has been adapted from Team New Zealand's 2013 America's Cup-winning racing yachts. Once under way, the vessel lifts above the water, reducing drag and making it three to five times more energy-efficient than traditional boats. A Vessev spokesperson says unlike conventional ferries, the VS–9 banks through turns like an aircraft and offers a near-silent, ultra-smooth ride with no rocking, no wake, and no seasickness — even for sensitive travellers. The VS-9 has a zero-emission propulsion system with a range of 50 nautical miles and it travels at a service speed of 25 knots Tim O'Halloran, chief commercial officer at Fullers360, says the innovative design and sustainable operation are perfectly suited to Auckland's vibrant maritime landscape. The 9m vessel has seating for up to six guests The 40-minute tour of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour offer panoramic views of the city skyline, harbour bridge, and pristine waters of the gulf, and includes expert commentary from the crew, highlighting the vessel's cutting-edge hydrofoiling technology and Auckland's vibrant marine environment. Fuller360's Electric Hydrofoil Experience departs from Viaduct Harbour Marina from Wednesday to Sunday at 10am and 3pm, and costs $NZ195 (roughly $180). For more information about the tour visit .
Forbes
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Electric Vessev VS-9 Hydrofoil Is 5X More Efficient Than Regular Boats
Vessev's VS-9 has already started commercial service with Fullers360 in Auckland, New Zealand. Most of the focus around electrifying transport has been on land-based vehicles. But water journeys can also benefit from more sustainable power – if you can find a way to increase efficiency. New Zealand-based Vessev reckons the combination of unique hydrofoil technology and electric motors can revolutionize small boats. I talked to CEO Eric Laakmann about the possibilities, while an on-location team took the Vessev VS-9 for a test ride at its home location of Auckland. At first glance, the VS-9 looks like an ordinary boat, although the clean appearance has some resemblance to a modern technology device. This is no surprise when you learn that Laakmann brings to bear years of experience developing products at Apple, including later iPod generations, iPads and the original Apple Watch. After some years spent on a sailing sabbatical, he ended up in New Zealand, the home of modern hydrofoiling after the 2013 Americas Cup win empowered by the technology. This was the original inspiration behind Vessev. 'The founder of the company Max looked at that and thought it could be commercialized,' says Laakmann. When he joined the company, he brought his product management knowledge to build a strategy and define which markets to chase. 'Two markets stood out to me as places to start with. One was harbor ferry operators because they have an intense usage of fuel. They turn on at 5:00 AM and off at 10:00 PM, using fuel the entire time, even idling at dock. We can cut that by up to 90%. That's an important cost saving when each boat uses cubic meters of fuel every day. The other market was tourism operators looking for ways to make their operation more sustainable.' The VS-9 rides very smoothly once it has raised onto its hydrofoils. The VS-9 brings together two innovations to create a compelling package – hydrofoiling and battery electrification. The former improves efficiency by lifting the boat out of the water so that it 'flies' over the surface, dramatically reducing drag, and the latter (like land-based EVs) makes for much more frugal energy usage. 'This combination is three to five times more efficient than what has come before and that's a big number,' says Laakmann. 'If you looked at automotive or aviation and said there's this new technology, it's going to make cars or planes 3 to 5 times more efficient, that would be a game changing innovation, and we have that for marine.' In fact, the reduced drag of hydrofoiling is what makes electrification possible, because a very efficient powertrain is more sensitive to inefficiencies elsewhere. 'It's a synergy made in heaven, hydrofoiling and electrification, because anytime you electrify something, you must be responsible about how you're using the electricity. The weight of the battery is significantly more than fossil fuels in terms of energy. The VS-9's batteries are 98.6kWh, which is about the same as the Tesla Cybertruck or Rivian R1T.' This battery size makes the VS-9 very practical. 'It's not any bigger than a car, so we can use Type 2 car chargers like on any vehicle without issue, which means we can charge in any marina with normal 22-kilowatt AC car chargers,' says Laakmann. The onsite reviewers in Auckland witnessed this in action, as the VS-9 was plugged into a standard Type 2 charger, having consumed roughly 18% of its battery for a 30-minute ride in the harbor. The fuel for this might have cost $83 in fossil fuel for a regular boat, but less than $5 of electricity for the VS-9. Assuming hydrofoil cruising, the VS-9 has a range of 50 miles with one passenger, dropping to 40 miles with the maximum 10 passengers. When foiling, energy consumption is around 2.5kWh per nautical mile. The hydrofoiling is not complicated for the boat's pilot, as the transition is automatic. The foils are controlled by actuators and sensors of boat height and speed rather than operating manually. 'The boat takes off at 19 knots,' says Laakmann. 'That's when the foils have enough lift to get out of the water. It cruises between 20 and 25 knots. That's the most efficient. The top speed will be around 30 knots.' This makes for a non-uniform relationship between speed and efficiency. The drag on a hydrofoiling boat goes up until they lift out of the water, then it drops for a bit and then goes up a lot. 'There is a certain speed where you'll be as efficient as a certain slow speed. We're as efficient at 25 knots as we are at 5 knots on the VS-9.' The test team (my intrepid relatives who live in Auckland) commented that it wasn't obvious that the VS-9 was transitioning from normal to foils because this was a gradual process, although once the change was complete the ride was clearly smoother, and you could see a smaller wake out the back of the boat. Turns were particularly slick, rapid and impressively stable. Overall, it felt smoother and faster than a regular ferry, although not as quiet as expected. Vessev's next design should reduce this considerably. This is not my family in a Vessev VS-9 boat. 'The current motor is a bit loud,' says Laakmann. 'We've got a new propulsion system that we're putting in the water on July 1st. Our current boat uses an axial flux motor on top of the T foil that drives the struts down to a gearbox, which goes out to a prop. It is 90% efficient, but you're losing energy. With the new system, we're winding our own custom motors with steel magnets, copper and aluminum. This is direct drive on the hydrofoil itself with two of our own custom 40kW motors. Active cooling allows us to make the motors even smaller because the motors are in the water. That will be a big upgrade just in terms of efficiency, manufacturing, and noise. We expect greater efficiency and range.' The VS-9 doesn't need expensive batteries with exotic chemistry, either. In fact, the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) type popular in commercial electric vehicles such as buses and trucks is ideal. 'There's a lot of good reasons for that,' says Laakmann. 'LFP is cheaper. It doesn't have any nickel or manganese or cobalt. We had some considerations around how they're mined but the real important thing to us is LFP batteries are long-lasting even at deep discharges. If you look at road vehicles and how they're used, most of the time, you're probably only using a couple percent of the battery, because you're doing short runs and occasionally a long road trip.' 'For nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), every time you deeply discharge it, you're doing a lot of degradation to the battery cycle life,' continues Laakmann. 'With LFP you can deeply discharge over 80% or 4,000 cycles, which is much more aligned with what this commercial marine application scenario is. It's a little bit heavier of course, but if you're measuring the performance of your vehicle at Year 5 versus Year Zero, you end up with better performance with LFP batteries than NMC. We're not trying to make an F1 car or an America's Cup vessel. We're trying to make an SUV, pickup truck or minivan – something that is safe and just gets the job done. The review team said the VS-9 looked relatively normal compared to other boats in the marina, with no obvious signs of the capabilities that lie below the waterline at rest. The interior is modern but not overly ostentatious, with a tidy control area. There is room to walk around in transit, and the windows are large enough to take pictures during the journey. My onsite team were impressed with the slickness of the VS9, considering it is the first boat from Vessev. Since its unveiling last year, the VS-9 is already finding commercial interest, and the first vessel went into service in Auckland on January 29th, 2025. 'It's been going well,' says Laakmann. 'We've got the world's best partnership with the largest ferry operator in New Zealand, Fullers360. They've got a fleet of 4,966 seats. They've got a zero emissions goal by 2040 and were looking at the technology that gets us there.' The Vessev VS-9 cruises at around 25 knots. Laakmann sees a bright future for Vessev and other startups that have entered the electric hydrofoil market, such as Candela. 'Automotive is totally different to boat manufacturing,' he says. 'You probably have 20,000 different boat manufacturers in the world whereas automotive manufacturing is a mere handful of big companies.' Boat companies also tend to produce much more customized designs. 'The VS 9 platform is flat on the deck, so we can put whatever we want on top of it,' he says. 'We're doing a production run of 12 and they're going to be different configs. Some of them will be a water taxi configuration. Others will be much more geared towards recreational. Some will be workboats.' He also envisages larger Vessev designs in the future. 'Most ferry operators are not looking for 10-passenger boats because that's much more of a tourism experience thing,' he says. 'They're looking for something bigger, so we're going to be scaling up to versions of these vessels that we're calling the VS-18 because it's nominally 18 meters long. It will be all the same tech, just bigger. The upper limit is 40 meters. The Boeing 929, which is a hydrofoil created by Boeing in 1975, is around 90 feet, or 27m. There is still a handful of those in operation in Hong Kong and Japan. These things can get quite big, but we don't want to start there.' Although an 18m Vessev craft would be twice as long as the VS-9, it would still only have one deck so aerodynamic drag wouldn't increase proportionately. It would also enable the foils to be wider, which is more efficient. 'On this larger vessel, it'll have a much larger beam, a width of 10.5m, so it would be a high aspect ratio wing that should get us some significant additional efficiency gains,' says Laakmann. Laakmann sees a very healthy potential market for Vessev. 'There are just over 100 electric hydrofoiling boats in the world today, but there are 33 million boats overall,' he says. 'Given that this is the most efficient way to move on the water at high speed, it's not crazy to think that there'll be a good number of vessels that do go this way. Even 1% would be 330,000. That's a lot of sales potential. The base VS-9 is $620,000, with options that come on top of that, but the running cost savings are huge. Some people in island resorts are considering orders of around 40 boats.' Who knows, we could see a Vessev VS-9 in the next season of The White Lotus. 'I did watch the show recently and it did cross my mind,' concludes Laakmann.
