Saudis invest in eight electric foiling shuttles for Red Sea Neom project

Swedish electric foiling boat start-up Candela has hooked a big fish by selling eight of its P-12 foiling shuttles to Saudi Arabia, which can accommodate 20 to 30 passengers, for Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s NEOM project. It’s the most significant commercial order in Candela’s history. The first batch of eight vessels will be delivered in 2025 and early 2026.

How much this electric passenger fleet will cost was not disclosed. But generally, Candela sells its P-12 at around 1.7 million euros, a price that matches that of a vessel of a similar size with a combustion engine.

Sustainable area of the future

The Neom project, at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan, must become the ‘sustainable urban area of the future’. The 26,500 km² new development plan includes a floating industrial complex, a global trade hub, several tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources.

The first three letters of ‘NEOM’ come from the Ancient Greek prefix ‘neo’, meaning ‘new.’ The ‘M’ is the first from ‘Mustaqbal’, an Arabic word meaning ‘future’. It is also the first letter of the Crown Prince’s name, Mohammed, who had already envisioned the project in 2017.

The Saudis say they’re reimagining a sustainable future in 20 to 30 years, but they’re already starting to build it today. The official cost to build Neom, $500bn, is 50% more than the country’s federal budget for the year. Still, some experts have expressed skepticism, saying the project’s estimated costs will exceed $1.5 trillion.

World’s first electric foiling shuttle

Candela Technology’s P-12 Shuttle, the world’s first 30-passenger electric hydrofoil boat, was first deployed in Stockholm waters in November 2023. After successful test runs at up to 30 knots top speed (55.5 km/h), it went into serial production at Candela’s Rotebro factory in Sweden.

The Candela P-12 Shuttle is an 11.9-meter-long hydrofoil ferry with a 4.5-meter beam that accommodates up to 30 passengers. Retractable hydrofoils lift the 9,9-ton boat half a meter above the surface once a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h) is reached, with minimal wake.

Minimal disturbance for marine wildlife

“The electric Candela C-POD motors, located in pods underwater, are exceptionally silent and create minimal disturbance for marine wildlife,” Candela claims. “When flying, the P-12 creates only a negligible wake, allowing for quicker journeys where conventional ships are speed-restricted due to their massive and damaging wakes.”

Two torpedo-shaped Candela C-POD MAXs remain underwater while ‘flying’ to boost the P-12 with 340 kW total peak power. Thanks to the hydrofoil technique, a low displacement compared to a classic ship, the relatively small battery pack of 252 kWh offers ranges up to 40 to 50 nautical miles (74 – 92 km) at service speeds of 25 knots (46 km/h).

The P-12’s digital flight control system balances the ship 100 times per second by adjusting the hydrofoils’ angle of attack, keeping it stable even in winds and waves.

Candela claims that, compared to the 35 kWh/Nm energy consumption at the service speed of a classic diesel shuttle, the P-12 only consumes 5 kWh with zero emissions. A diesel ferry would emit some 13.6 kg CO2 per hour.