Tipping Point for Battery Prices?

🛝JOULE PONTOON BOAT

Joule blends pontoon room with catamaran lift.

The 24 ft 6 in hull is fiberglass, beam 8 ft 6 in, draft 24 in, and seats twelve.

Propulsion comes from a single ACEL intelligent electric outboard. The IE 75 package delivers 55 kW continuous and 93 kW peak (115 hp) through an axial-flux motor. Three 43 kWh LFP battery modules nest between the hulls and give 30–50 nautical-mile range at cruise. DC fast charge reaches 80 % in about one hour. The Smart System bundles liquid cooling, touch display, NFC key, digital throttle, rear camera, and predictive maintenance on a 400 V bus with better than 95 % efficiency.

Standard deck kit adds a 9 in Garmin plotter, Infinity audio, quick sunshade, built-in cooler, waste drawer, stowable table, swim ladder, and storage cover. Fender receivers, rod holders, and a bimini frame are part of the base build.

The enclosed bow and tall sides mute spray and improve ride comfort compared with typical pontoons, while a flat deck eases boarding at rental docks and electric-only lakes.

Click here to learn more.

⚓️ WEEKLY ARTICLES/TRENDS

Wilhelmsen Joins the Maritime Battery Forum - In another sign of growing industry alignment, Wilhelmsen Ships Service has joined the Maritime Battery Forum. The move strengthens collaboration between operators, ports, and suppliers working on battery integration, safety standards, and scalable charging solutions. Wilhelmsen’s participation adds weight to the forum’s growing influence as a technical and policy hub for battery-powered maritime transition. (link)

New Global Alliance to Coordinate Electrification Efforts - Also this week, the Global Alliance for Maritime Electrification (GAME) was officially launched. Formed by major industry groups including IEMA, ZESTAs, and the Maritime Battery Forum, GAME unites over 250 organizations with a common mission: accelerate battery adoption and zero-emission propulsion, especially for inland and nearshore vessels. The alliance will coordinate international efforts in R&D, regulation, standards, and commercialization. (link)

Faraday Institution Sounds the Alarm on Port Readiness - The Faraday Institution, the UK’s flagship energy storage research group, released a warning this week urging ports and governments to invest in charging infrastructure before vessel demand outpaces supply. As noted in their recent commentary, countries like Singapore and Lithuania are advancing port-side electrification, but most regions are lagging behind. The Institution is calling for urgent action to match the pace of shipboard battery adoption with adequate infrastructure.(link)

Battery Prices Disrupt the Economics of Shipping

A new analysis published on July 5, 2025, reveals that battery costs have fallen far below industry expectations, now hitting as low as $51/kWh in China. The report, titled “Why The Maersk Institute Was Right About Ship Batteries But Wrong On Price”, shows that battery-hybrid vessels—previously considered only marginally competitive—can now deliver substantial lifecycle cost savings.
(link)

With battery pricing no longer a barrier, the spotlight shifts to the next bottleneck: shore-side charging infrastructure, which remains underdeveloped in most global ports.

A Tipping Point?

Taken together, this week’s news suggests the marine sector is approaching a tipping point. With falling costs, increasing collaboration, and growing regulatory alignment, battery-powered shipping is shifting from niche to mainstream. The next period of time will be critical for infrastructure development, investment coordination, and regulatory clarity.

⚙️ WAVE 300 Electric Outboard

Explomar’s Wave 300 electric outboard delivers 300 hp (225 kW peak, 150 kW continuous) from an axial-flux permanent-magnet motor, turns up to 3 800 rpm at the propeller, and produces 655 N·m of torque. Dry weight ranges from 210 kg (20 in shaft) to 226 kg (30 in), with a 540 V DC architecture and ≥ 95 % reducer efficiency. Trim is −6° to 16°, tilt −6° to 75°, and steering ±30°.

Complete propulsion packages pair the outboard with Explomar’s Smart Captain drive-by-wire control, liquid-cooled power electronics, and modular NMC or semi-solid batteries. A common Open-Sea configuration uses twin 90 kWh packs (180 kWh total) for 300 hp single-engine setups, while the factory energy-dense 125 kWh module drops into the 6.3 m carbon energyX RIB at 1 450 kg light-ship.

At the 12th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (1–5 July 2025) the energyX 6.3, powered by one Wave 300, contested every Open-Sea trial: E-Boat Rally, Manoeuvrability, Endurance, and the 16-nautical-mile Speed-Record run. The boat finished all heats without technical penalty and logged rally telemetry above 20 kn, though it missed the podium that saw Frauscher’s foiling prototype raise the overall record to 49.84 kn.

Wave 300 proved reliable during fast-charge pit-stops on the Aqua SuperPower HPC dock and drew notice for quiet operation alongside far higher-powered competitors. With its compact mass, high specific power, and drop-in voltage bus, the unit gives builders a clear path to planing-hull electrification while staying within current battery weight budgets. For full technical data and ordering details see the manufacturer’s (here).

🏄🏾‍♂️ SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK

A unique electric foil boat towing, well, an foil.

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