Would you ditch your car-borne commute for a boat? It’s perhaps an easier ask in Stockholm, where locals are used to travelling by ferry — outside of winter, at least.

There, the city has trialled electric ferries by Candela, with its P-12 slashing emissions versus traditional vessels as well as reducing travel time.

According to the company’s own figures collected last autumn, the Nova emits 95% less CO₂ than diesel-powered boats operating the same route, with Nova’s emissions 23g/pkm versus the 439 g/pkm of traditional vessels. That’s a big deal in Sweden, where the city’s traditional fleet of 60 diesel vessels accounted for 8% of shipping emissions in the city as of 2022.

“We have seen highly encouraging emission figures from the pilot project with Nova,” Michaela Haga, Chair of Maritime Public Transport Committee in Region Stockholm, told me via email. “This demonstrates that, through innovation and collaboration with the private sector, public transport can be made both faster and more climate-friendly.

Faster ride by electric ferry

It also takes just half an hour between key points on route 89 — Tappström (Ekerö center) and Stockholm City Hall — where the ship has a speed exemption and can travel at 22 knots. That compares to 45-55 minutes by traditional boats, and more than an hour by car or bus.

“What excites me most is that people riding on Candela P-12 save one hour per day. That’s a game changer for workers, families that frees up people’s time,” Gustav Hasselskog, CEO and founder of Candela, told me via email.

No wonder then that route has seen ridership climb by 30%, with transport operator Region Stockholm saying it will boost service from five days a week to daily as of next month.

“Nova is drawing commuters to the other vessels as well. That’s especially exciting, since one of our goals is to show that with fast, comfortable waterborne transport, we can get car commuters to switch to waterborne transport,” says Hasselskog said in a statement.

Commute by electric ferry?

But that’s Stockholm, where — as the company notes — everyone used to commute by waterways 120 years ago. So can Candela do more than replace polluting ferries with electric vessels? Will cities be able to shift significant road traffic back to waterways?

Candela thinks so. “We see that waterways in most cities have enormous potential for fast, low-cost, and emission-free transport that can relieve road networks and connect communities,” says Hasselskog in a satement. “This is just the beginning.”

Candela has announced sales to Saudi Arabia, while the P-12 started operations in Berlin, Germany last year and is expected to go into use in Lake Tahoe, USA, this year or next.

Beyond Candela, Sydney, Australia, plans to shift its ferry network to electric, while Candela rival Vessev last year launched an electric hydrofoil ferry in Auckland, New Zealand, and the city has wider plans to electrify its fleet. Similar fleet electrification efforts are underway in San Francisco and Seattle, while Dubai is considering similar technologies.

That said, for the most part, those are all cities with existing ferry networks. Examples of cities introducing a ferry service where there previously was none are relatively rare. Belfast, Northern Ireland, plans to start an entirely new ferry service to nearby Bangor using the Artemis EF-24 Passenger electric hydrofoiling ferry, but that was postponed until later this year.

More cities should consider the idea, says Region Stockholm’s Haga. “I believe that cities with extensive waterways, such as Stockholm, need to start viewing water as something that connects the city rather than divides it,” she told me. “If new technology and innovation can reduce both travel times and emissions, then waterborne transport undoubtedly has a key role to play in the future of urban mobility.”

Electric water buses

But can boats operate frequently enough to act as buses in a public transport network? Candela believes so.

Beyond emissions and slower speeds, traditional ferries tend to be larger than the Nova — it seats 31 passengers at most, while rival ferries have space for as many as 250. That’s a problem, as they rarely reach that capacity, with Candela saying they tend to run just 15% full on a yearly average.

Candela believes it makes more sense to run smaller boats with more frequent departures across a wider network — it would be cheaper, offer a better service, and reduce pollution and wake damage, after all.

And it would extend where people could live. Some islands in the Stockholm region receive just one or two departures a day. By running more frequent services — a bus system on the water, the company suggests — more people could enjoy island life and still commute to the city easily, outside winter at least.

“We’ve now seen that the technology works in demanding public transport service,” Hasselskog tells me. “There are so many exciting possibilities ahead — ways we can knit Stockholm and other cities closer together and connect new neighbourhoods.”

The Candela electric ferry

Unveiled in 2023, the Candela P-12 shuttle runs on electric power, but it has a few other differences versus traditional ferries.

The biggest difference is the use of hydrofoils. At higher speeds, the computer-controlled hydrofoils pop the bulk boat out of the water to reduce friction and wake. And that means it can run faster in urban areas, as traditional boats face speed limitations to avoid wake generation, and the smooth ride means you’re less likely to get seasick.

The P-12 is powered by dual submerged motors that are cheap to maintain and power, but can offer serious speeds, the company says. The design cuts energy use by 80%. The P-12 can seat 31 people and top speeds of 25 knots with a range of 40 nautical miles at top speed.