KTH Holding invests in Foil Technologies enabling greener electric boating

 KTH Holding welcomes Foil Technologies AB as its newest portfolio company. Foil Technologies is developing hydrofoils for work- as well as recreational boats. Using a hydrofoil the boat will fly above the water reducing drag significantly. This will be a key factor for enabling electrification of the boat sector which will have a major impact on lowering today’s emissions from combustion engines.

The market for recreational boats alone is a multibillion market with up to 700 000 sold every year. However, combustion engines still dominate the market even though electric propulsion is emerging. Key for electrification to happen will be to get speed and range when heavy batteries are needed. This is based on research at KTH where new foiling concepts are developed for optimized hydrofoil technologies. The boat is lifted from the surface using a wing mounted to the hull and flies above the water controlled by an advanced control and sensor system. This enables a smooth and silent boat ride at increased speed and range while having zero emissions.

The team consists of two KTH researchers Ivan Stenius and Nicholas Honeth who have teamed up with Peter Kjellqvist who has an industrial background and now heads the company as CEO.

“The hydrofoils developed at Foil Technologies are based on almost 10 years of KTH research and the uniqueness is that they will be simple, cost efficient to manufacture and install. It will be among the world’s most compact hydrofoil system technology for boats. This will enable a competitive pricing to replace today’s combustion engines. The uniqueness also stems from the novel, yet simple balancing strategy to achieve an advanced control system” says Ivan Stenius Founder and Chairman of Foil Technologies AB.

The company has been developed with the support of KTH Innovation and last year Foil Technologies was part of the KTH Innovation pre-incubator program. After completing the program, KTH Holding AB chose to invest in Foil Technologies and support the journey to the market. The plan is to launch a commercial prototype by the end of summer and test all software and hardware components integrated into a boat which is tested at sea.

 

”The support and investment from KTH Holding has been crucial at this earliest stage of company formation and has allowed us to bridge the gap from research and made us more investment ready” says Peter Kjellqvist CEO of Foil Technologies AB

 

The investment is aligned with KTH Holding’s strategy to focus on research-based technologies in the earliest stages of commercial development, especially technologies that address the climate challenge.

 “The Foil Technologies team is very committed and they address a large global market set to be electrified. With a growing emerging market we see a very interesting business opportunity, especially in combination with the company’s focus and niche on affordable hydrofoil systems. We are glad to be an investor taking part in building the company further”, says Daniel Carlsson, Investment Manager at KTH Holding AB.

 

 

About KTH Holding:

KTH Holding invests in early stage start-up companies based on research or education at KTH. KTH Holding is part of the innovation ecosystem at KTH supporting commercialization via investments in companies and intellectual property rights. The aim is to make research, new ideas and knowledge from KTH generate a positive impact in society. The investment portfolio comprises more than 50 companies in many technology fields and development stages. www.kthholding.se