Airhull lets electric boats glide on a layer of air

Summary

The Norwegian boat start-up Pascal Technologies wants to equip two of its electric boats with Airhull technology. The boats Nabcrew Zero AirBlue 1240 and Hugin DC will be able to glide on a layer of air. The technology lifts the hull of the boat out of the water when underway, thereby reducing drag – thus increasing efficiency and requiring less energy to operate the boat. Airhull should be easier to implement than hydrofoil technology, which also lifts a boat out of the water. Electric boats have to be very economical with their energy to achieve a decent range. This is usually achieved by minimizing the resistance of the hull in the water. Hydrofoil boats use hydrofoils underwater to lift the hull of the boat out of the water. However, the hydrofoils have to be adjustable, which makes the technology more complex. Pascal Technologies promises to be able to achieve a similar effect with Airhull. Up to 50 percent of a boat's energy consumption can be saved in this way. Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen. YouTube-Video immer laden YouTube-Video jetzt laden Das Video zeigt die prinzipielle Funktionsweise der Airhull-Technik von Pascal Technologies. The hull of an Airhull boat has a kind of comb on the underside around the outer edge. This creates a hollow space under the boat across the entire hull, which is filled with water when the boat is stationary. At the stern, there is a controllable flap that gradually closes the cavity at the rear end as required. A blower at the bow pumps air into this cavity, creating a pressure that lifts the boat about 15 to 20 cm out of the water when the boat is moving. The hull is then no longer in full contact with the water. This reduces water resistance and energy consumption. The pump and the rear flap are controlled automatically depending on the situation to achieve the best performance, promises Pascal Technologies in an explanation of the ...