An Australian electric boat company Genevo Marine has unveiled its 8.2-metre E8 luxury electric motor yacht, which boasts its own integrated 1kW solar system and a 132kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Genevo Marine was founded in early 2023 by Damon Rahmate and Andrew Davey, who boast 30 years’ combined experience in the solar PV, energy storage, EV charger, and marine industries.
After three years of design development in partnership with award-winning superyacht designer Misha Merzliakov, the E8 is set to be built by leading composite boat builder, Dan Williams of Mahi Boats on the Gold Coast.
Genevo Marine is partnering with Deakin University on using recycled carbon fibre materials which they hope to source from a newly planned aerospace carbon fibre recycling plant.
The E8 uses a 400kW motor powered by a 132kWh lithium-ion battery pack and further incorporates a 1kW solar system into the design of the boat and onboard charger.
“Designing an electric boat entails some deep consideration and analysis around hull efficiencies and weight distribution,” said Damon Rahmate.
“The E8’s meticulous design process, high performance electric drive train and high energy density battery pack will ensure a generous range of around 50 nautical miles at 25 knots or in excess of 100 at cruising speeds.”
“While we’ve engineered a considerable amount into the overall efficiency, concerns around range anxiety are countered with the fact that the average recreational boat user travels 10km or less in each trip,” added Andrew Davey.
“The E8 model will be capable of covering approximately 10 times this distance at top speed!”
The 1kW solar canopy is used to power the boat’s onboard Garmin, Polk audio entertainment, and cooling systems. The E8 will also come with a comprehensive telemetric system that will be capable of remotely monitoring each onboard system for ongoing after-sales support and OTA software updates.
Genevo Marine also has plans for rolling out a fast-charging network at marinas around the country to support not only the E8, but the growing fleet of electric boats.
An ancillary business arm focused on delivering a marine fast-charging network will be operated separately to the electric boat manufacturing. Technology partner Kempower will deliver fast-chargers purpose-designed for installation on a pier or jetty with system including power units and dispensers up to 600Kw.
The fast-chargers will also be able to be updated remotely and have been specifically developed to withstand harsh marine environments.
“Our charging technology has the capability to satisfy fast charging to both electric boats and EV’s and our technology partner is the world leader in dockside chargers,” said Rahmate.
“The satellite fast charge pedestals offer a distinct advantage for dock side chargers over other manufacturers, being slimline, compact and proven in harsh marine environments. They are also more easily scaled up in dockside environments, which will be important as the number of electric vessels on the water increases.
“Genevo Marine will be unique in acting as our own hardware service partner and installer, similar to Tesla’s own Super Charger network, thereby cutting out the requirement for third party providers and their inherent delays,” he continued.
“It’s vitally important that we own and service our own network and minimise the downtime delays that has dogged some of the EV charging networks.”
Genevo Marine has already opened pre-orders on its website for the E8 with a refundable deposit of only $200 required. Production is expected to begin in mid-2024 with the first units set to be available for inspection and sea trials by the end of the year.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.