Voltari US Expansion

🌊 Weekly Scan and Upcoming Events

• Vision Marine reports positive operating cash flow in Q1 FY2026 | 2026-01-13 | Vision Marine Technologies | Positive operating cash flow supports integration and liquidity plans. | Link

• ePropulsion to power multiple launches at boot Düsseldorf | 2026-01-16 | Pressmare | OEM momentum on display; large fully electric yachts among debuts. | Link

• boot Düsseldorf 2026 (Jan 17–25) opens | 2026-01-17 | boot Düsseldorf | Europe’s largest boat show; key venue for electric demos and sales. | Link

• Toronto International Boat Show (Jan 17–25) now open | 2026-01-17 | Toronto International Boat Show | Canada’s largest indoor show; strong traffic for e-outboards and tenders. | Link

• Finnboat: Oceanvolt Dual Energy on Swan 51 at boot | 2026-01-12 | Finnboat | Premium sail segment showcases new electric drive integration. | Link

• Guide: Electric exhibitors at boot 2026 | 2026-01-16 | Plugboats | Useful hall-by-hall tracker for attendees focused on electric. | Link

🖌️ Donut Lab’s solid-state battery

At CES 2026, Finnish startup Donut Lab stepped into the solid-state battery spotlight with a claim set that reads like a wish list: 400 Wh/kg, five-minute full charging (not “to 80%”), and a cycle life up to 100,000 cycles, wrapped in a safety pitch that leans on a solid electrolyte and reduced thermal risk. We look forward to this company sharing more data over time.

Solid-state has been “two years away” for most of a decade, so a level of potential skepticism is earned.

Why boats care more than cars

1) Weight is performance, range, and ride quality
Boats pay steep penalties for mass. For planing hulls (wake, surf, runabout), extra battery weight can push up planing thresholds, reduce top-end, and compress usable runtime at tow speeds. If 400 Wh/kg is meaningful at the pack level (not just a best-case lab cell), it enables the trade most marine OEMs want: same day on the water, less mass—or more runtime without building a heavier boat. 

2) “Five minutes” runs into shore power limits
Even if a battery can accept a five-minute charge, most docks cannot deliver it.

That is industrial electrical service, not a typical marina pedestal. So the marine implication is not “five minutes for everyone.” It’s:

• faster turnaround where high-power DC exists

• less degradation fear from frequent fast charging

• higher confidence in partial charging during short dock stops

3) Cycle life matters most for fleets
The 100,000-cycle claim is likely overkill for weekend users. For commercial operators—training fleets, rentals, water taxis, patrol boats—it changes the economics. High-cycle batteries reduce the “battery as consumable” problem and can support tighter utilization schedules. 

Donut Lab’s story will get real when it clears a few hurdles (a checklist that would convert skeptics):

1. Independent test data (not just company claims): charge curves, cycle tests, thermal behavior, low-temperature performance

2. Cell vs pack clarity: is 400 Wh/kg at cell level, module, or full pack including containment? 

3. Repeatable fast charging: what does “five minutes” mean across temperatures and state-of-charge ranges? Is there a taper that turns “five minutes” into “five minutes on a slide”?

4. Manufacturing proof: pilot line output, yields, QA, and supply chain maturity

5. Marine-grade packaging: ingress protection, corrosion strategy, service model, warranty

If Donut Lab’s battery performs as claimed, electric boating gets a new playbook: lighter boats with fewer compromises, faster charging that matters where infrastructure exists, and cycle life that can make fleets pencil out. If the claims collapse under independent testing, the marine sector keeps moving on incremental gains—better pack integration, better thermal management, and better charging networks—because those wins already ship.

⚙️ Voltari’s U.S. manufacturing expansion

Voltari Marine Electric says it is expanding manufacturing into the United States by acquiring and transforming the Queen Craft Shipyard site in Bay County, Florida, a yard it notes has operated since 1974.

The company frames the move as a production step, not a sales outpost. The announcement describes building upgrades, new construction, manufacturing equipment, R&D equipment, and a machine-learning “AI lab” tied to its unmanned surface vessel (USV) work.

Here are the core numbers Voltari put on the table:

• Jobs: 285 new jobs

• Purpose: increased capacity for U.S.-based customers while maintaining Canadian HQ and core operations.

• Regulatory angle: Voltari says the U.S. yard supports compliance with requirements such as the Jones Act.

The Jones Act point matters. For U.S. commercial workboats, patrol craft, and many government-adjacent programs, the friction of “not built in the U.S.” can nix a deal before it reaches technical review. Voltari is saying, in plain language, that a Florida yard reduces that friction and helps unlock U.S. contracts.

The inclusion of an AI/ML lab is aimed at USV development and defense-adjacent demand. That could be substance or branding; the deciding factor will be deployments, repeat orders, and disclosed partners that show usage beyond demos. Voltari’s public messaging points to “surging demand” in defense and commercial markets as a reason to accelerate USV work.

For readers tracking the category, this is one of the better signals that the commercial side of electric boating is moving from prototypes toward procurement. I’m not ready to call it a breakout until we see conversion milestones and contract visibility, but the intent is hard to miss: Voltari is positioning itself to compete for U.S. fleet volume under U.S. rules.

Here, is Voltari’s announcement.

🏄🏾‍♂️ Social Media Post of the Week

It is cold and frozen in many boater’s regions. That doesn’t stop these Canadians from ‘water skiing’ in the winter - called Canadian water skiing.