The problem
Many cities sit on water, but few use it well for daily travel. Conventional ferries push a heavy hull through the water, which takes a lot of energy and, at speed, creates large wakes that erode shores and disturb other boats. That is why most urban ferries are either slow or diesel-hungry, or both.
Batteries struggle with this. A conventional fast ferry needs so much energy that a battery version would be very heavy, need huge chargers at each quay, or have little range. Stockholm’s evaluation notes that ferries there account for nearly half of the region’s public transport emissions yet attract relatively few passengers because trips are slow and departures limited (Candela).
The product
The Candela P-12 is a 12-metre electric passenger vessel that “flies” on submerged hydrofoils. Once it reaches speed, the foils lift the carbon-fibre hull above the surface, cutting drag. Candela says this reduces energy use by up to 80% compared with conventional diesel vessels (Candela). Key figures:
- service speed 25 knots, top speed 30 knots, range up to 40 nautical miles at 25 knots;
- 30 passengers in the Shuttle version, 12 seats in the Business version;
- designed for wave heights of 1 metre when foiling and 2 metres when not;
- DC charging at 300 kW, about 45 minutes from 10% to 85% for the Business model;
- carbon-fibre foils with a designed breaking point, to protect the hull if they hit a log or rock.
Candela develops the whole system in house, from its C-POD electric motors to the flight-control software and hulls, and builds the vessels in two of its own factories in Stockholm (Candela).
How it works
- Depart: at low speed the P-12 moves like a normal boat, hull in the water.
- Take off: as it accelerates, the foils generate lift and raise the hull out of the water.
- Fly: a flight controller adjusts the foils many times a second to keep the boat level, even in waves.
- Cruise: with the hull out of the water, drag falls and the batteries go much further.
- Land: near the quay, the boat slows and settles back into the water with a small wake.
- Charge: at the terminal it plugs into a standard DC fast charger.
Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2019 | First leisure boat, the C-7 |
| 2023 | P-12 Shuttle ferry launched |
| 29 Oct 2024 | P-12 Nova starts SL public service on Route 89, Ekerö to central Stockholm |
| 12 Feb 2026 | Official evaluation reports halved travel times and 94% lower CO2 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | EUR 30m funding round, with the World Bank’s IFC joining |
| May 2026 | First P-12 for Mumbai arrives at JNPA port |
| 10 Aug to 2 Sep 2026 | Nova out of archipelago service for repairs |
Impact and numbers
- Stockholm trial: on Route 89, travel time fell from 55 to about 30 minutes and CO2 emissions fell 94% compared with diesel. Ridership rose 22.5%, 95% of passengers rated the trip positively, wakes measured just 13 cm and noise was compared to a car on summer tyres at 45 km/h (Candela).
- Network simulation: replacing two large diesel ferries with six P-12s could raise departures from hourly to every 15 minutes, increase capacity 150% and bring SEK 119 million (EUR 12 million) in socioeconomic benefits, according to the report.
- Other trials: besides Stockholm, P-12s have run in public transport trials in Gothenburg, Oslo and Trondheim, where Candela says they showed strong technical performance, lower operating costs and much shorter travel times than diesel ferries (Candela).
- Orders: in March 2026 Candela said more than 65 vessels were on order, with deployments planned in Mumbai, the Maldives, Thailand and Saudi Arabia’s NEOM. Candela had already built over 100 leisure boats (Candela).
Honest caveats. The Stockholm figures come from Candela’s summary of the official report, and the 94% CO2 cut reflects Sweden’s very clean electricity. Reliability is still being proven. When Region Stockholm moved Nova to an archipelago route between Sollenkroka and Möja from 23 June 2026, steering problems, a grounding and crew shortages led to 55 of 328 departures being cancelled; the operator took the boat out of service on 10 August and it returned on 2 September (Mitt i). Some big orders are uncertain: NEOM ordered eight boats, but work on The Line was put on hold in 2025 (LEMOB News). Order numbers also differ between releases (“over 30” in February 2026, “more than 65” in March). At 12 to 30 seats, a P-12 carries far fewer people than a large ferry, so it suits frequent, small services rather than mass commuting. Candela publishes no financial results in these releases, and the US Lake Tahoe service still depends on regulatory approval.
What’s next
The EUR 30 million round will fund a second production facility. The test for 2026 and 2027 is delivering dozens of boats to new markets, from tropical waters to Indian monsoon seas, and keeping them flying on schedule. Region Stockholm’s archipelago trial, run with operator Blidösundsbolaget as part of an energy storage project, continues until autumn 2027, when it will be evaluated; the plan is to keep sailing through the autumn with a winter break.
Why it matters for Europe / green buyers
Europe’s cities have rivers, lakes and coasts that are underused for transport. The Stockholm evaluation suggests that small, fast electric ferries can attract new riders, cut emissions and lower operating costs without the heavy charging infrastructure that large battery ferries need. For transport authorities, the questions are reliability guarantees, speed-limit exemptions for low-wake vessels and integration with ticketing.
India is the first big test outside Europe. Delhi-based operator JalVimana has ordered 11 P-12s for Mumbai, starting on routes from the Gateway of India to Alibaug and Mandwa after the monsoon, within a planned ₹6,500 crore Mumbai Water Metro of 11 new waterways and 207 electric or hybrid ferries, designed by Kochi Metro Rail Limited, which runs India’s first water metro (Free Press Journal).
Sources & image credits
- Candela, “Stockholm’s electric flying ferry successful on all parameters” (12 Feb 2026): https://candela.com/newsroom/stockholms-electric-flying-ferry-successful-on-all-parameters/
- Candela (Mynewsdesk), “Flying electric vessel maker Candela raises EUR 30M amid soaring oil prices” (18 Mar 2026): https://www.mynewsdesk.com/candela-speedboat-ab/pressreleases/flying-electric-vessel-maker-candela-raises-eu30m-amid-soaring-oil-prices-3438369
- Candela (Mynewsdesk), “First flying electric ferry in the U.S. is coming to Lake Tahoe”: https://www.mynewsdesk.com/candela-speedboat-ab/pressreleases/first-flying-electric-ferry-in-the-us-is-coming-to-lake-tahoe-3356093
- Candela, “P-12”: https://candela.com/p-12/
- Mitt i, “Teknikstrul för Nova under sommaren: 55 inställda turer” (2026): https://www.mitti.se/nyheter/teknikstrul-for-nova-under-sommaren--55-installda-turer-6.3.379595.7eb10a9869
- LEMOB News, “Eight electric hydrofoil boats for a project on hold”: https://lemob-news.com/eight-electric-hydrofoil-boats-for-a-project-on-hold/
- Free Press Journal, “Water Metro: 1st boat Candela arrives in Mumbai, awaits custom clearance” (28 May 2026): https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/water-metro-1st-boat-candela-arrives-in-mumbai-awaits-custom-clearance
Images:
- “Candela P-12 Nova 01” by Sinikka Halme, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Candela_P-12_Nova_01.jpg
