October 22, 2009
(Stockholm) Today the boat builders, Nimbus Boats,
revealed the world’s first electrically powered boat for the commercial
market. Nimbus 27 E-power is 27 feet long, has a cruising speed of 22
knots and takes 4 hours for a full charge. The price of a “full tank”:
5 euro. 
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"We are the first boat builders in the world to take a large,
electrically powered boat from the drawing board to the market," said
Nimbus Boats managing director, Magnus Andersson.
Nimbus 27
E-power has been developed in collaboration with Electroengine AB, a
company that develops solutions for electrical power in different kinds
of vehicle, including private cars.
"Nimbus shall be the best in
the world in the environment segment. The electrically powered boat
establishes our lead. We are now showing the way in the development of
pro-environmental boats, without losing any comfort or performance,"
said Magnus Andersson.
Performance is close to fossil fuel
driven boats. A fully charged Nimbus 27 E-power has a range of up to 20
nautical miles, or 37 kilometres, at a cruising speed of 22 knots. Top
speed is 27 knots. The lifetime of the batteries is calculated at 3000
charges, or more than 10 years’ use.
‘The new generation of
batteries, which will be with us soon, will probably allow us to double
the range. The electrically powered boat will then become a serious
contender for fossil fuel driven boats,’ said Thomas Bergfjord,
managing director Electroengine AB, and expects the electrically
powered engine to become the engine of the future on both land and sea.
‘The
electrically powered boat gives out zero emissions when being driven by
electricity and far less maintenance is needed than for a diesel
engine. The batteries charge up in three hours from a 3-phase 400V/32 A
power point, and can also be charged using a standard 220V power point
in 28 hours.
Magnus expects interest in the elec trically powered
boat to be considerable, although because up until now there has been
no feasible alternative, there’s not much data to go on.
‘By
creating a new market and developing the pro-environmental boats of the
future we are taking a premeditated risk. Initially, the price is going
to be 30 to 40 percent higher than for an equivalent diesel powered
boat, but because running and maintenance costs are much lower, the
Nimbus 27 E-power will, in the long term, be a good buy and good for
the environment.
The Nimbus 27 E-power will be built at the Nimbus Boats yards in Mariestad, Storebro and Ryd.
‘The
technology is not confined to Nimbus 27 E-power, but can be fitted in
our other boat brands, such as Ryds and Paragon. And we hope that this
will come to be so,’ said Magnus Andersson.
For more information please contact:
Magnus Andersson, 073 8534638
Thomas Bergfjord, 070 799970
Free pictures for downloading from
http://www.nimbus.se/e-power.zip Video of the 27 E-power: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwq9Bd3Ba94 Report from Rapport in SVT (Swedish news channel)
http://svtplay.se/v/1740573/abc/varldens_forsta_elbat_presenterades