International Electric Boat Magazine
The more good news for electric boats today is that Torqeedo has cooperated with Groupe Beneteau's Excess brand and mobile technology company ZF and won the METSTRADE Shipbuilder Award.
E'Lab is an Excess 15 catamaran equipped with Deep Blue Hybrid. It was nominated as a collaborative solution category between a ship or superyacht manufacturer and its supply chain partners in recognition of "ship manufacturers and supply chain partners Starting from the conceptual stage, collaborate to develop specific solutions for design challenges, innovations or efficiency improvements.
The three companies have been working together to introduce the first installation of Torqeedo and ZF's new dark blue 50 kW sail drive to the Excess 15 catamaran. The project is part of Groupe Beneteau's global strategy outlined at the Cannes Yacht Festival in September, when they announced the electric propulsion plans for Excess, Beneteau and the motorboat brand Delphia.
The collaboration has also been extended to the public through Excess Lab, an online forum that connects Excess experts directly with their owners and potential owners. Onboard energy management and issues related to alternative propulsion are some of the most popular topics and help companies define the true needs of sailors for hybrid sailboats. The feedback and interaction of ideas is of great help in developing the right products and services for electric and hybrid sailing to attract mainstream audiences.
The cooperation between ZF and Torqeedo is the first step of this cooperation. The development of the Deep Blue 50kW sail drive as part of the overall Deep Blue system architecture began in February 2020, and the final product was announced as part of Torqeedo's new product line in 2021.
"From the very beginning, there was a very good strategic fit between the two companies," said Massimiliano Cotterchio, ZF Padova's head of sales and marketing. "Torqeedo brings extensive experience in electrical. Combining our mechanical experience and 20 years of experience in the sail drive market, it has created a very successful product."
When Excess appeared, the first application was defined, and the business of designing a perfect system was underway. This cooperation was fully supported by the engineering, production and product management teams of the three companies. This yacht has undergone extensive testing and continues to be optimized almost every day, partly because of information from online forums. Excess 15 is a living laboratory, a model of collaborative solutions, and more glimpses of the future.
"This is the first step," said Thibaut de Montvalon, brand director of Excess. "Our plan is to develop a complete solution for different models equipped with Torqeedo engines and equipment according to the size of the vessel."
The Excess 15 model is the largest model in the company’s catamaran series. E'Lab has two Deep Blue 50 kW electric sail drives developed by ZF, two Deep Blue high-capacity lithium-ion batteries and a complete onboard The energy management system allows the pilot to continuously understand the power consumed and generated by each component.
This includes monitoring power generation through hydrogenation, sometimes referred to as "regeneration." When the system detects that the yacht is sailing downwind, Deep Blue will automatically use the rotation of the propeller in the water movement to charge the high-voltage battery pack.
The system includes a DC-DC converter to keep the 12V battery pack fully charged for hotel loads, and a DC-AC inverter for larger loads such as air conditioners and water generators. In the yacht’s first long-distance trial, the hydroelectric power generation system easily provided enough power to power 100% of the hotel’s load at a cruising speed of seven to eight knots.
Excess 15 can also be charged via shore power. The system is completed by two diesel range extenders, used to provide backup power in long-term bad weather or long-distance driving.
"We are proud to work with industry leaders such as Excess Catamarans and ZF," said Dr. Ralf Plieninger, Managing Director of Torqeedo (see the photo above with Philip Goethe, Project Sales Director of Torqeedo. "We cannot ask for more professional or visionary cooperation Partners to help promote the future of the marine industry."
Volaviamare Group, which operates tourist ferries in the Gulf of Naples, is undergoing a Deepspeed electric hydrojet retrofit
Candela's electric boat and its hydrofoil technology have received a 24 million euro (27.2 million USD) investment from EQT Ventures to expand production
Volaviamare Group, which operates tourist ferries in the Gulf of Naples, is undergoing a Deepspeed electric hydrojet retrofit
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