The archive · Climate & Energy · Product decision · 2014–2026
Candela's flying-ferry bet: electric hydrofoil commuter line spreads from Stockholm
Stockholm's Candela bet foils fix electric boats' drag; its P-12 ferry now runs Stockholm transit, with orders from Mumbai, Berlin and Saudi Arabia.
Candela
What the business is
Candela designs and builds all-electric, computer-controlled hydrofoil boats; its P-12 is a 30-passenger ferry that lifts its hull above the water to cut drag, sold to public-transit operators.
Starting capital：Series C totaled about $40M in 2024 — $25M initial round plus a $14M extension led by SEB Private Equity with EQT Ventures and KanDela AB — followed by a €30M round in March 2026 backed by IFC plus EQT, SEB, KanDela and Ocean Zero.
How it started
Gustav Hasselskog founded Candela in Stockholm in 2014 on a simple physics argument: boats lose enormous energy plowing through water, so an electric boat's range dies with speed. By lifting the hull onto computer-controlled foils, drag mostly disappears — the company claims 80% lower energy use. Candela says Stockholm's roughly 70 public-transport vessels burn more fossil fuel than the city's buses and trains combined, yet carry only a small share of riders, which made ferries the beachhead.
What happened
In 2024 Candela received orders from Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Berlin, and celebrated its 100th vessel built (counting C-7 and C-8 speedboats). On 29 October 2024 its P-12 'Nova' began a pilot commuter run between Ekerö's Tappström and Stockholm City Hall — 15 km in about 30 minutes versus roughly an hour by conventional ferry — run with Trafikverket and Region Stockholm (SL). In November 2024 it added $14M to its Series C and sold its first US ferry, to FlyTahoe for Lake Tahoe. In June 2025 Mumbai operator Jalvimana ordered 11 P-12s, Candela's largest announced deal. An official Swedish Transport Administration evaluation (published February 2026) found travel time cut from 55 to about 30 minutes, CO2 down 94% versus diesel, energy use down 66%, ridership up 22.5% and 95% of passengers positive; it simulated six P-12s replacing two diesel ferries could lift capacity 150%. In March 2026 Candela raised €30M and announced a second factory in Poland.
How it ended up
Still scaling as of September 2026: the P-12 runs in Stockholm's public-transport network on Route 89, serial production at its Stockholm plant targets roughly 40 vessels a year, and 2026 deliveries were scheduled for Mumbai, the Maldives, Thailand and Berlin, with Lake Tahoe and Saudi Arabia in the pipeline.
Background
Candela is a Stockholm company betting that the reason cities don't use their waterways is inefficiency, not demand. Founder Gustav Hasselskog argues conventional ships have barely changed in a century and waste energy plowing through water, which is why electric boats could never get the range or speed to compete. His fix: computer-controlled hydrofoils that lift the hull above the surface, cutting water friction by a claimed 80%.
The product that carries the bet is the P-12, a 12-meter, 30-passenger electric ferry. On 29 October 2024 its first vessel, 'Nova', began a pilot commuter route between Ekerö and central Stockholm run with Trafikverket and Region Stockholm, covering 15 km in about 30 minutes against roughly an hour for the old diesel ferry. Because the foiled hull makes almost no wake, it can run fast where wake limits slow every other vessel in the city.
Orders followed the pilot. By late 2024 Candela had orders from New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Berlin plus its first US sale (Lake Tahoe's FlyTahoe); in June 2025 Mumbai's Jalvimana ordered 11 boats. An official Swedish Transport Administration evaluation in February 2026 found travel time down from 55 to about 30 minutes, CO2 down 94% versus diesel, energy down 66%, ridership up 22.5% and 95% of passengers satisfied; it projected six P-12s replacing two diesel ferries at 15-minute headways. In March 2026 Candela raised €30M with IFC and EQT Ventures and opened a second factory in Poland.
What has to be true
- Hydrofoils attack the real blocker for electric boats — drag — rather than just adding batteries, which is why the P-12 achieves car-like speeds on transit routes where diesels are wake-limited.
- Candela picked a regulated, high-visibility beachhead: one Stockholm pilot produced an official evaluation with ridership up 22.5%, which became the proof used to sell to Mumbai, Berlin and Tahoe.
- Selling to public-transport operators means repeat customers with routes, not one-off rich buyers, and the same platform serves both private boats and ferries.
- Manufacturing in-house in Stockholm (about 40 vessels a year) plus a Poland plant let Candela control cost and delivery as orders multiplied.
What can be applied
A physics fix only wins if it changes the unit economics of a regulated service: Candela succeeded because foils made its ferry faster and cheaper than the diesel it replaced, not merely greener.
Aftermath
Candela is in serial production and expanding: the P-12 still operates Stockholm public-transport Route 89, a second factory in Poland is being stood up after the March 2026 €30M round, and 2026 deliveries include Mumbai (11 boats for Jalvimana), the Maldives, Thailand and Berlin, with FlyTahoe's Lake Tahoe service and Saudi Arabia's Neom in earlier announced deals. The company calls itself the best-funded electric-vessel maker, but faces copycats (Zin, Navier) and must prove ferry economics hold beyond one flagship route.
Sources
- Candela brings its P-12 electric ferry to Tahoe and adds another $14M to build more
- Candela's flying ferries land major Mumbai deal for world's largest electric waterway network
- EQT and World Bank back 'flying ferry' startup Candela as it raises €30m to fuel global rollout
- Candela electric hydrofoil ferry cuts emissions and travel times in Stockholm deployment, according to STA report
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