Electric boat makers see smooth seas ahead, despite the challenges facing their landlubber counterparts.
Why it matters: The industry is courting cash from investors who see growth in powering boats with electricity instead of gas or diesel.
The big picture: Startups making battery-driven boats and components like electric outboard motors saw global venture investment last year jump 42% to $205 million, per PitchBook.
- Investment this year isn't quite keeping pace, amounting to just $53 million over 14 deals as of this morning. But startups are in-market — and sounding optimistic, despite considerable headwinds facing EV makers.
Driving the news: Flux Marine in Bristol, Rhode Island, is raising a $50 million Series B to ramp up production of electric outboard motors.
- Such motors are quieter than conventional models that run on gas or diesel, and they tend to require less maintenance.
How it works: The company sells 22-foot boats from manufacturers Scout and Highfield.
- Workers install batteries in the boats' hulls and attach 100 horsepower Flux Marine outboard motors to the back.
- The company then sells the boats to customers at a starting price of $105,000 or $125,000, depending on the model, roughly a 20% premium over conventional versions.
By the numbers: The systems deliver cruising speeds of 22 mph, and top speeds of 30 mph, with a range of about 30 miles.
- They're compatible with DC fast chargers and conventional level 2 chargers — meaning they can charge not only via a marina's typical dockside ports but any roadside charger while being towed to the water.
The latest: Flux Marine made its first deliveries last year, and it expects to begin shipping production models this month to customers.
- It aims to deliver 20 models this summer, or roughly two per week.
The startup expects to close the funding round by year-end.
- "This is the critical mass funding that would allow us to reach profitability, be cashflow positive, on the existing product lines," CFO Daylin Frantin says.
Flashback: The round adds to the $15.5 million Series A that Flux Marine raised in 2022, led by Ocean Zero.
What's next: Flux Marine is considering supplying motors to boat manufacturers, which would bring a higher volume of orders than its current approach of completing retrofits in-house.
- "We know that that's the path to market," Frantin says.
