Candela to supply 8 flying electric ships to Saudi Arabia’s NEOM

• Candela P-12 flies above the waves on computer-guided underwater wings and uses 80% less energy than conventional ships.

Swedish electric boat maker Candela has won eight orders for world’s first electric hydrofoil ship – Candela P-12 – from Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, making it the largest announced order in Candela’s history.

 The first batch will be delivered in 2025 and early 2026.

“The P-12 is designed to create zero-emission water transport systems which have significant improvements over traditional water commuting” Gustav Hasselskog, CEO and founder of Candela, said.

Unlike legacy systems with large, slow, and energy-inefficient conventional ferries, Hasselskog  said the Candela P-12 is a smaller and faster unit, allowing much more frequent departures and quicker journeys for passengers.

Candela P-12 was launched last year and is set to debut in Stockholm’s public transport during fall 2024.

New level of comfort

Flying above the waves on computer-guided underwater wings, hydrofoils, the P-12 uses 80 per cent less energy than conventional ships, allowing it to combine long range and high speed for the first time in an electric vessel.

With a speed of 25 knots and more than 2 hours of endurance, the Candela P-12 holds the distinction of being the fastest and longest-range electric passenger ship to date.

The hydrofoils also unlock a new level of comfort. Passengers will fly smoothly over the Red Sea, as the P-12’s digital flight control system balances the ship 100 times per second by adjusting the hydrofoils’ angle of attack, keeping it stable even in winds and waves.

As fuel usage rather than the manufacturing phase makes up the bulk of a ships’ environmental impact, energy efficiency is crucial to curb emissions.

Since Candela’s foiling vessels use 80 per cent less energy than conventional ships of the same size, a life cycle analysis performed by the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm concluded that a P-12 will emit 97.5 per cent less CO2 during its lifetime compared to a conventional diesel vessel of the same size.

The Candela P-12 seats between 20 and 30 people depending on configuration.