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Electric Hydrofoiling into the Future: Transforming Water Travel with David Tyler!
Today we are talking to our guest about the journey from High-performance racing sailboats and aerospace technology to creating a vision to transform nautical transportation, so stay tuned.
Hey everybody, this is Chris Brandt here with another FUTR podcast.
We have with us, David Tyler, Co-Founder and Managing Director, North America of Artemis Technologies, who is working to bring sustainable, future-proof mass transit to our waterways. We are going to talk about how they are building new technology for fast, efficient electric aquatic vehicle which can help solve the mass travel challenges of urban settings by prioritizing waterways while enhancing the tourism/consumer experience.
So let's talk to David about what they are doing
Welcome David
https://www.artemistechnologies.co.uk/
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Today, we're talking about our guest's journey from high performance racing sailboats and aerospace technology to creating a vision to transform nautical transportation. So stay tuned. We have with us, David Tyler, co founder and managing director, North America, of Artemis Technologies, who's working to bring sustainable, future proof mass transit to our waterways. We're going to talk about how they are building new technology for fast, efficient, electric aquatic vehicles, which can help solve the mass travel challenges of urban settings by prioritizing waterways while at the same time enhancing tourism and the consumer experience. So let's talk to David about what they are doing. Welcome, David. Hi, Chris.
David Tyler:Great to be here.
Chris Brandt:Thanks for being on. Um, this, this is, uh, your background is so interesting and, uh, you know, some of the technology and things that you're bringing to the game here are really interesting. So I'm excited to have this conversation. Um, but, you know, before we get, you know, too far into it, You have a really interesting story. I mean, you've done a lot of, especially in the water, you know, the aquatics, nautical space, you've done some really interesting things and you've had some really interesting projects that you've worked on. Could you kind of just talk about your story and your journey and how you got here to Artemis?
David Tyler:Well, I studied law degree at university, the university of Birmingham in the UK. Um, And I was kind of progressing down that path to go off to be a lawyer. Um, but then I started working at a company called IMG, which is an international, um, sports management agency. And I was always kind of fascinated with sport. I love playing sport. Um, I played field hockey for England as a kid. So it always, you know, playing sport excited me. And so I worked in a couple of sports marketing agencies. And then just as I'd kind of finished my training to be a lawyer, I, um, decided to set up my own talent management business and just go out on my own. I think I was about 26 years old. And one of the first, um, people that I sort of, um, started to represent was Ian Percy, um, and his, and his Olympic training partner, Andrew Simpson. Um, and so I worked with Ian and Andrew to help them win their. Olympic campaign in Beijing.
Chris Brandt:Can you talk a little bit about who Ian Percy is and what he did?
David Tyler:Yeah, so Ian Percy is a double Olympic gold medalist and silver medalist for Great Britain. So he's a well renowned sailor. He's competed in multiple America's Cups. And it was actually after the London 2012 Olympics, Ian and Andrew were invited to go out and join the Artemis Racing America's Cup Challenge in San Francisco. And it was, it was, um, you know, it was a really exciting opportunity for them both to go out and do that. Actually, there was a bit of a tragic incident in that Andrew Simpson, um, was actually lost his life in a training accident in San Francisco in 2013. Um, you know, good, good, close friend of mine and obviously Ian's best mate as well. Um, so it was a really difficult time.
Chris Brandt:Yeah.
David Tyler:We actually set up for the Andrew Simpson Foundation in his name to pride a charity based in the UK to give opportunity to kids to get out on the water. It's something that Andrew was really passionate about. And it was at that moment when Ian was asked to take over that team, um, and he, he invited me to come out and actually be the commercial director for the racing team. So I moved out to San Francisco in 2013 to, to support Ian, um, for the campaign for the 34th America's Cup in Bermuda. And that was, for me, it was, it was amazing to be part of that team. Um, Ian is a, is a great leader, um, really builds an amazing culture within the group, incredibly determined guy. And we had a fantastic campaign, came pretty close, um, to, to, um, to beating Team New Zealand and their challenger playoffs. But during that campaign, you know, sailing had really kind of jumped forward in terms of technology. Um, we were racing these, um, hydrofoiling AC 50 boats going four times the speed of the wind, um, operating at about 60 miles an hour. So they're incredible machines. And we, and we were kind of really knew that that technology could have a wider impact, um, within, within wider maritime space and just trying to win a boat race. And while Ian and the other sailors were on board the boat, I was often in these chase boats, these ribs that were flying around at a 40 knots, trying to keep up with the sailboats. The guys on board would come off the water, you know, on the sailboat, think saying, Oh, that was not too bad day, was it? It was quite nice out there. We'd be getting like slammed around, bounced around, engines rumbling, diesel fumes and all that. And we were kind of like, wow, there must be something in this boiling thing. Um, And I think that was around 2017 and it was the same time that the International Maritime Organization had got 198 countries to commit to reducing the maritime emissions by 50 percent and the world was kind of recognizing that Um, climate change is a thing we have to do something and, uh, and so, um, really under the, uh, with Ian's leadership, with myself and a number of the senior, um, engineers from the racing team, we spun the company out of the race team, based ourselves at the University of Cambridge in the UK, um, and set off looking at ways that we could bring this amazing technology from the America's Cup into the commercial maritime space.
Chris Brandt:You've dabbled also into the, the aerospace. Side of things, too. Could you speak a little bit about that?
David Tyler:What we're doing is really bringing together, um, with our eFully technology, with what we're doing now at Artemis, is combining technologies from the jot racing, um, with electrification technology, the technology from the automotive sector, but also, um, really utilizing, I guess, manufacturing and technologies from the aerospace. Well, to, um, our e foiler vessels are made with lightweight carbon fiber to be as strong and light as possible. Um, the, the boat, the boats themselves, they have a closed loop, um, autonomous flight control system as well. So really easy for the operator to use. The boat will kind of take off by itself, maintain ride height, flying above the waves. And those kind of complex controls, um, those, uh, complex control systems and the use of kind of ailerons or flaps on the foils themselves, that technology has really come from aerospace business.
Chris Brandt:Yeah. Well, so, you know, I just want to like step back for a second and talk about sort of the America's Cup class racers. I mean, you worked on AC 50s. I think there are AC 75s these days. Um, but for people who aren't familiar with, the world of sailing and how, uh, how much it's changed recently. Can you talk about like how the foilers work and what foilers are, what, what they do and, and, and how they've sort of transformed the industry. I mean, we just came off of, um, the, the Vendee Globe, which is a favorite of mine. And this year the foilers. Charlie Dolan won it and he was way out in front of everybody else. The foilers definitely clearly had an advantage over more of the traditional, uh, monohull bolts, monohull boats. Um, so can you talk about like sort of the, the, how the, the foilers have impacted all of that and why they're so important? A
David Tyler:hydrofoiling boat has a, has a foil. We call it under, underneath the vessel, which is effectively like a wing, like an airplane wing under the water. So when a boat accelerates, it creates lift. Picks a boat up out of the water and that significantly reduces the hydrodynamic drag of the vessel. So increases the efficiency. So it means that these boats can go significantly further using the same power input, whether that's through sailing, the wind, the power, the wind on sailboats, or in our case, um, the power driven by our electric motors within the themselves. Um, because you're flying out of the water as well, it means that you're not, you're not interacting with the waves as much because you have less surface area. So it means that the boats are incredibly maneuverable, uh, in particular at high speed.
Chris Brandt:For people who've watched some of the racing that's, that's gone on. I mean, there's been some really spectacular, you know, scenes out there, you know, these, those boats are very, um, they're on these. You know, wings that are sort of very thin, super lightweight, just sort of at the edge of performance, right? Um, but what you're bringing is taking, adapting some of that to a more like street legal version of, uh, of that technology, right?
David Tyler:Yeah, I think in the America's Cup, you're developing something. It's all focused on performance and winning that wing and winning that boat race. So you want to create something that's incredibly efficient and incredibly fast, but particularly in the America's Cup, if you, if you want to create something that's very fast, you have limited surface area. So you have smaller foils, but that means you have less stability. Um, and then those boats can become really difficult to control and you might have seen if you're racing in those, um, hydrofoiling classes, as soon as you come off the foils, you're sitting, you know, you slow down significantly and in the America's Cup, you come off the foils and that could be the end of the race for you. So it's kind of that. Balance that trade off between high speed, um, maneuver capability, but making sure that you stay on the foils and don't drop down. With, with, um, our eFoiler technology, um, with Artemis and what we're doing today, we're utilizing those principles of foiling, um, to increase efficiency and effectively use foiling to increase the range of electric vessels. Um, along with other benefits like, you know, improve ride comfort, if you're flying other ways, reduce weight, so we can avoid speed restrictions in local harbors. But really, our approach to development of our e foiler system is to make something that is incredibly robust, reliable, and most importantly, meets the requirements of the regulatory authorities as well.
Chris Brandt:Tell me, like, about how you, you, you went from, you know, America's Cup technology, which is incredible. Um, And, and, and, and came up with the idea for Artemis and, and how you're going to, you know, sort of change transportation in cities.
David Tyler:Well, I think, I think it's, it's really difficult to, um, decarbonize boats compared to trucks and, and cars. Um, water is 800 times denser than air. So, the power required to move boats through the water, particularly at high speed, is, is, is tough. It's a lot of energy. Um, simply putting batteries into current vessel designs today means that they are significantly affected by Either, um, reduction in the range to have a, you know, viable transport solution or significantly impacted in terms of the speed at which they're able to operate. So what we wanted to do was bring our foiling technology into maritime transport to effectively increase the efficiency of these vessels, um, by through that drug production and deliver viable range for commercial operations. So whether that is a. you know, a fast ferry here in New York where I'm based now, or a pilot boat operating in, you know, the port of Singapore. Um, we really unlock the potential for kind of commercially viable electrification of high speed boats.
Chris Brandt:When we talk about, you know, like the market for this, I mean, there's a, you know, certainly the United States has an enormous amount of Coastline, um, as do some many other countries. Um, and a lot of inland waterways as well. And, and, you know, most of our large cities are centered around, you know, waterways. Um, can you talk to like what the, the market is and what, like what they. Potential impact of this could be
David Tyler:we're kind of finding out more and more all the time. Um, the, the, the U. S. in particular is a, is a very important market. Um, the thing about maritime emissions is that there, I think, a maritime emissions globally accounts for 3 percent of all CO2.
Chris Brandt:But
David Tyler:I think 15 percent of sort of knocks and socks, um, emissions as well, which are, you know, very dangerous emissions and particularly maritime diesel. When it burns, it produces a lot of particulate matter, which can cause significant health problems. So for cities like New York or, or San Francisco in the U S, um, or Seattle, where there's lots of kind of maritime transport and lots of ferries in particular, the, the pollution from those boats is a major issue. Um, and it's. And that's why there's this huge opportunity for us is really to support, um, is to support the, or reduce the emissions being created by those valuable transit options within those cities. I think one thing that a lot of places are recognizing as well is that, you know, historically, the waterways were the highways. You know, whether it's in London, the Thames used to be the beating heart of London and everything sort of moved on the water and the same in New York as well. And I think with the invention of the motor car and obviously development with land based transport and trains and things like that, we've kind of moved away from using those waterways. But actually, um, there's a big drive to kind of go back to the future in that regard. Um, in New York itself, um, NYC Ferry that is, um, operated by NYC Economic Development Corporation. They had zero ferries in 2016 and now they've got a fleet of 38, um, connecting Brooklyn with Manhattan, um, up to the Bronx, um, down to Staten Island as well. Um, in San Francisco, they're looking to triple the size of their fleet. Um, just to, to, because as, as kind of road and rail networks become busier and busier, congestion just keeps growing and growing. These cities are really looking to see how they can use waterway transport to really, um, provide additional capacity. Uh, and frankly, you know, it's, it's, uh, far cheaper to bring in a new ferry service and try and build a new bridge or put in new roads or new rail networks.
Chris Brandt:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, I guess the, the road is already there essentially with the water.
David Tyler:Yeah. And I think, I think it's, it's an interesting case around economics. Cause I think people think, Oh, a ferry is probably more expensive than a bus, but you, you know, with the ferry, as you say, the roads already there, you're not paying for the road and for all the other sort of infrastructure that's required for that bus or that lorry to operate. And I think it's something that people kind of forget about.
Chris Brandt:Yeah, you don't have to create bus lanes for a boat. No. Let's talk a little bit about what these boats look like, and you know, how they're built, and like, just the size of them, and like, what they can transport, how far they can go, how fast they go. Can you speak a little bit to that? Yeah,
David Tyler:well you can see one of them, I think, behind me. So yeah, that's the, uh, that's our EF24, so our 24 meter catamaran. So that's a 150 passenger ferry. Um, it would, we're, we've got the first three of those in build at the moment in Europe and looking to kick off building those in the U. S. later this year. So that boat is really perfectly sized for inner city commute commuter transport. Um, um, but also providing, um, lifeline services to islands as well. So we, we're delivering one of our ferries to the Orkney islands up for the top of Scotland. So it's, I don't know if you know much about the Orkneys, but it's a group of 99 islands. And so their ferry services really are critical. Um, they provide obviously a way for people to get to and from, um, the mainland to connect with each other, but also to provide their, you know, the food they eat, the goods that they need, and also to provide, you know, on occasion some kind of a medical services that they require as well. So, the ferry services and places like that are, yeah, are really, really critical. So, we're really excited to be working with, um, with Orkney to, To help them decarbonize those operations by providing to two of our boats. So we have a 24 meter platform that can deliver 150 passengers as a ferry option. But then we also have a crew transfer vessel variant of that boat to to service offshore wind farms. And then we have a much smaller EF 12, so 12 meter monohull. Class of boats and within the F12 range, we, we, we can, um, deliver, um, an application for pilot boats. Um, also for, um, offshore wind operations, the crew transfer vessel and then water taxis too. And we, we kind of call it a platform approach to technology. So within the F12, we have. Kind of a standard foil system propulsion unit forward. We have, um, uh, the same power electronics, the same battery system, and then the option for single or twin propulsion. So you can also have a propulsion unit on the rudder as required. But from the kind of deck up, we can change the stupor structure of the boat. Um, depending on the requirements of the application, so the pilot boat and the water taxi, they will have the same technology, but they will look quite different, um, because these are requirements.
Chris Brandt:These are all electric boats, right? And, and, and my understanding is they, you know, like, typically they, they do around like 25 knots, which is actually. pretty, pretty fast, and I would imagine since it's riding above the waves, um, it's a much more comfortable ride at that speed too, I would have to imagine. And you get about 70 nautical miles, is that sort of where, where, where your range is right now?
David Tyler:The 150 passenger ferry has a top speed of around 36 knots, and then can comfortably cruise, um, 17 nautical miles at 25 knots. Um, the, the F12 range, um, the range of those boats is typically around 15 nautical miles at 25 knots and a top speed of just over 30 knots. But as you say, you know, it's not about just, um, creating zero emissions and operation. These boats have, um, uh, additional benefits. Um, reduce accelerations is significant as well. Um, so because the boats fly over the water, you don't get that kind of slamming.
Chris Brandt:Right.
David Tyler:A lot of, a lot of vessels get when they're particularly when they're operating offshore in bigger sea states. Because the boat cuts through the water, it creates very minimal disturbance or minimal wake. So, um, it means that we can actually operate in places where, at high speed, in places where there's speed restrictions. So in Belfast Harbour, where we're based. There's a 6 knot speed limit there, but we have permission to operate at 25 knots just because 1 of the manoeuvrability of the boat, but 2 just because we're not creating this kind of water wash or wave that can damage shorelines and can actually be quite dangerous to other water, um. Can
Chris Brandt:you speak a little bit to the complications of building something like this? Because it's, it's not a small feat because one, you know, like if a car catches on fire with a, Because of a battery or something, you know, you just step aside and wait for the fire trucks to show up. But if you're on the water, that presents a significantly different challenge. So your, your, your safety requirements are higher. Um, you know, some of the challenges of dealing with that stuff are bigger. So it requires. some really innovative technology, right?
David Tyler:Yeah, absolutely. And you know, safety is a big priority and it's critically important on boats. Um, as you say, you know, when you're driving in your car, if there's an issue, you can get out of the car and you can walk away. But if you're operating on a boat and you're in the water, it can be, it can be quite difficult. So there has been strong leadership from the flag States, like the maritime and coast guard agency in the UK and the U S coast guard in the U S, um, working pretty closely with. The maritime class societies like the NV and Lloyd's Register, American Bureau of Shipping, Rena, et cetera, to develop rules around the electrification of boats, um, and particularly around the use of batteries on board boats. We, we actually have developed our own battery system for our vessels because we, one, we wanted to create something that was as lightweight as possible, um, because our boats, you know, our boats effectively take off and fly. So by reducing the weight of. Reducing the weight of our batteries and increasing the energy density means that we can go further and faster. So that was important for us. But frankly, we had a lot of, we had a lot of guys that we brought in from the automotive space that worked on electric vehicles and electric drive units and battery systems. They, they weren't probably as happy with the level of safety within maybe some other maritime technology and maritime batteries, um, and felt that, you know, there was a different way forward. So we created our own standard 103 kilowatt hour pack that has all the fire suppression equipment within the box itself. Um, and at the end, those, those packs have gone through the type approval, um, testing process, which is pretty significant. You, you basically have, you basically have to set cells into a thermal runaway. So create an event within the cell, within the mod, within one module within the pack. And then the modules either side can't go above 90 degrees for 24 hours. So effectively you are suppressing that event from happening, which will enable, um, one for people to get off the boat, uh, and to move to safety. But two, it also means that the rest of the boat can operate, um, and we can isolate that pack until you have the opportunity to, to remove it.
Chris Brandt:That sounds like a technology that would be, uh, welcome in the automotive side too. After seeing some of the, some of the things that have happened. Yeah, recently.
David Tyler:Yeah. And I think, I think, you know, we take safety incredibly seriously. It's something, you know, I think, you know, something that myself and particularly Ian is obviously really passionate about and given, given the history and things that I spoke about early, you know, making sure that everyone is safe is apparently important to us.
Chris Brandt:You know, you mentioned like the, the one platform you got behind you will do like 150. Um, you know, how do you compare that to like, A bus in terms of just sort of costs and capacity to move people,
David Tyler:you know, I think 150 passenger ferry is more expensive than a bus, you know, or say a bus is 30 to 60 people. Um, it is more expensive, but I think when we're looking, that's like
Chris Brandt:three buses, three buses.
David Tyler:Um, and so when we're, when we were kind of developing this technology, we certainly didn't want to create something that didn't make commercial sense. So we didn't want to create like a Concorde where it was an amazing piece of technology, but the practicalities meant it wasn't a success. You know, there's no point creating something that nobody wants or nobody can use because it's pointless. So we were, we spent a lot of time, um, in analyzing the economics. Of the technology and the vessels for operation and the exciting thing about our boats is because we're using significantly less energy than a traditional high speed cat. Um, our fuel costs are significantly lower. So, just to, I guess, put into perspective and in flat water, our ferry will 35 knots will be over 70 percent more efficient than a, than a diesel standard vessel. And if you, if. But once you start to see a sea state, then that differential increases because we're still flying above those waves, whereas a normal boat's getting effective more and more because the drag is, the drag is increasing as you're hitting those waves. And just in one meter, um, significant wave height, that, that efficiency jumps from the seventies to the eighties.
Chris Brandt:Yeah.
David Tyler:So, on a route in New York, for example, um, here, you know, operating say from Wall Street down to Rockaway, uh, replacing our, putting our boat with, you know, replacing the current vessel with our E4 ferry would save over 2 million a year just on the operational costs.
Chris Brandt:That's not nothing, you know, as they say, um, and, and I, and I imagine too, you know, just, you know, the, the, the longevity of these boats, I, you know, boats tend to last a lot longer with proper maintenance than, you know, like Other types of vehicles on the road. So I, I got to imagine there's some, you know, some, uh, nice efficiencies in sort of the long term picture for a lot of this.
David Tyler:Yeah. And carbon, you know, carbon composite boats last a very, very long time, you know, over 40 years, there's no rust on, on the carbon fiber boat. Um, um, with the, with the electrical system, there's, there's, um, far less mechanical Bits on board the boat. It's very much like an electric car. Um, there's less to do, frankly, from a service and operations perspective. So in terms of sort of driving down costs, increasing efficiency and reducing the number of days that the vessel isn't operating, the kind of multi electrical system, um, really, really does support that. Um, and with our offer. We're not only reducing those fuel costs because we're so efficient, we're significantly reducing the operation or the service and maintenance costs over their lifetime.
Chris Brandt:The, the infrastructure that you need for the charging infrastructure and all that stuff, can you speak a little bit to how all that works?
David Tyler:It's relatively straightforward, actually, for us. With the EF12 range, we use a CCS2 connector, so the same charger that you would use for your electric vehicle. We have a system that can charge at 320 kilowatts, um, in just one cable. You just have a dispenser on the pontoon, um, and it means that we can charge our EF12 boats in an hour, around an hour, using that system. We can also have a scalable shore based energy Buff energy storage system. So, um, basically provides a buffer. So where you have challenges around getting energy from the grid, you can have this, um, effectively a battery in a box on shore. You can do a very slow triple charge, um, particularly buying energy when it's cheap, charge up that battery. And then it means that when the boat comes in, you know, you have enough energy stored energy to be able to do a really fast charge into the vessel itself. Um, uh, and then with the bigger, larger ferries, there's kind of two options. You can have multiple CCS2 connectors, um, to charge the boat depending on your operational requirements. And then we're looking to utilize the, um, MCS standard charger that will be able to charge up to 2. 9 megawatts. Meaning that we'd be able to charge the ferry in an hour using that one cable as well in the future. So we're really, you know, it's an example of how we're leveraging technology from that automotive space and bringing it into the maritime sector.
Chris Brandt:Well, and, and, and there's a lot of infrastructure, you know, heavy infrastructure around ports too. So I imagine, you know, this is something that can be deployed fairly easily.
David Tyler:I think, I think for our size vessels, it's relatively straightforward. I mean, putting in our charging system in Belfast, our first one, we, we, the whole thing was done in four weeks, including the ground works. Um, and really all we needed was like a three phase connection into, into that energy storage system on shore. So it was really easy to put that system in, no problems at all. And that's one of the benefits about our boats, when you start to look at the ferry as well, the actual reduction in the required charging. Compared to putting in a standard vessel, you know, an electric displacement boat, because we, because we're so much more efficient, we need far, we need less charging infrastructure. So it can really reduce the cost of sort of that transition to electric vessels. But just on that point as well. Because we're, you know, it's five times less energy operating at high speed. It means that we, our batteries, um, last longer too. So when you're looking at total cost of ownership of the diesel boat versus an electric displacement boat versus a R vessel, we're cheaper than in the diesel, say potentially by, you know, 2 million a year in terms of fuel. But when you start looking at the cost of replacement batteries on a, electric displacement vessel versus ours over 15 years, we've seen savings of almost 70 million just on the cost of replacement batteries.
Chris Brandt:Wow. It's
David Tyler:almost like a little bit of a hidden cost for people that
Chris Brandt:are you investigating other types of technologies to like, you know, maybe swapping batteries and hydrogen and things like that.
David Tyler:We have a technology roadmap to make sure that we are utilizing the best, um, solutions that, you know, our kind of the EFOLA system itself is agnostic to the fuel source. We have electric motor. We, we do need a battery because the energy needs to come from the battery into the motor, but we can either have a big bank of batteries and just have a full electric boat, or we can have a hydrogen fuel cell. Um, and there's also other hybrid solutions for other applications like, you know, like Coast Guard or people that really need, you know, to have more Well, the thing, the thing with hydrogen, I think. Is that the, the cost of the fuel is so expensive that the business case isn't as strong at the moment, whereas with the kind of the complete electric E 4 on a ferry, we're cheaper than the diesel. If you use a hydrogen fuel cell, you're actually more expensive than the diesel. Um, and I think once the cost of, you know, clean hydrogen comes down, once it's more available, then that business case will change. But I think the most efficient thing to do, particularly if, like, if we're operating in the UK, is to take that energy straight from the wind turbine and put it straight into the boat with minimal losses. I think that conversion into hydrogen to store, I think you lose probably, I think you lose almost 70 percent of the energy anyway, just in that conversion.
Chris Brandt:Yeah, it's like you could start building your own offshore wind farms and, you know, make that your, uh, charging ports.
David Tyler:Well, well, with, with the offshore wind, um, operations, that is something we're actually doing. So we're working with partners to be able to charge directly from the turbine. So when the crew transfer boat comes on, it drops off the technicians. And then generally they stay out in the wind farm for up to four hours, kind of idling around waiting for the guys to finish that job. So, There's an opportunity there to actually, you know, tie on to the wind turbine and actually charge directly from, um, from the power being generated offshore. And then you have plenty of energy to be able to pick the guys up and then bring them home.
Chris Brandt:That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Well, I would imagine also, you know, A lot of what you're building has implications for other markets too. I mean, it's not just like developing tech just for yourself here. There's a lot of what you're developing could be applied to other markets. I mean, we've already talked about like, you know, improve battery safety to the automotive market, but I mean, it sounds like there's a lot of other potential use cases.
David Tyler:Within, within the maritime space in particular, you know, our battery systems don't, you know, don't have to be just in our foiling boat. They, they could, they could be the energy storage system for sort of floating vessels or tourist vessels that operate slowly in ports and harbors. The same with the propulsion unit that we developed as well, that could be a pod drive for other maritime operations. And then we're also developing a collision avoidance system too. It's kind of a sensor fusion of sonar with camera technology connected with radar and AIS. Um, really important for us, given we operate at 35 knots and kind of potentially future moves to fully autonomous operations, we can leave that in place. But that, that cleaning avoidance system could be used by, um, non foiling craft too, um, to make, um, on water operations safer and safer. And particularly if we're moving in this direction to get more boats on the water, then. Safe operations is going to become more and more critical.
Chris Brandt:Well, and I know collision avoidance is a big deal, uh, on the water. Um, I, I know that, you know, a lot of ships now carry like radar, early detection systems and things like that. And I know like when you look at some of these races, especially like the single handed races, you know, it's always like, they're always hitting something in the water at some point. There's a lot of weird stuff floating around out there.
David Tyler:Yeah, we've operated our boats in London, in Port of Antwerp, we were in Barcelona for a number of months in America's Cup, we've taken our first vessels, pioneering our first vessel from Ireland across to Scotland a couple of times, so crossing the Irish Sea, we've certainly hit things, but we haven't had any Noticeable damage to the foils because they have been designed to be robust, reliable, mainly kind of cosmetic things that can be fixed with a bit of a roller of anti foul. Um, but I know in places like Seattle, in Vancouver, um, they're, they, you know, they often have big, large dead heads, they call them so big. Trees effectively. Right. That are kind of hiding under, semi submerged under the water. And also, um, whales and big mammals under the water, um, that can kind of, you know, come up, come up pretty quickly, uh, and breach that surface. So it's something that we know is going to be really important in certain locations. Um, and we want to do our, do our best to avoid hitting things.
Chris Brandt:So tell me, like, what's, what's next for Artemis? Where do you go from here?
David Tyler:It's, it's a big year for us. We, we were, you know, we started serious production of our EF 12 boats last year. So those first few vessels are going out to customers as we speak. We have the first ferry, first three ferries in build. So we'll be launching that first 150 passenger ferry, uh, later this year. So that will be. That'll be quite a spaceship when it hits the water. Yeah, to put it in perspective, our EF 12 boats are about nine tons, that ferry's about 60 tons. Wow. So, a significantly bigger beast, um, so really, you know, really excited to see that one hit the water first. We're going to be launching I want to
Chris Brandt:see nine tons just floating above the water.
David Tyler:Yeah, well, yeah, well, yeah. Um, and then we have our first pilot boat, um, going to be on the water later this summer. We're going to be demonstrating our first quay transfer boat with Orsted, their wind farm in Barrow, in a couple of months time. We've just announced, um, an MOU with a company called Delta Marine to start manufacturing Jones Act compliant boats in Washington state. So there's lots happening, lots going on. Um, and I guess we kind of, we're, we're As a business, we're seven years old now, so not that young anymore. We're moving out of this kind of heavily focused R& D phase into this commercialization phase and kind of getting products out to people and that brings its own challenges around customer service, after sales, service and maintenance, warranty, um, all of those things. So that's kind of, um, and scaling our manufacturing as well, not, not just in Belfast, but across the world.
Chris Brandt:There's a lot to building a company. For sure.
David Tyler:Yeah. Yeah. And we've, we've got a, we've got a really strong team. We've got a good group of advisors as well, helping us because it's, you know, as, as a, as a, as a group, we certainly know we don't have all the answers, so we're certainly getting out where we need it.
Chris Brandt:Your boats are being built in Belfast. Is that correct?
David Tyler:Yes. Yeah. So, um, a number of the boats are being built in Belfast and then we have a wider European manufacturing. Um, supply chain as well, really to enable us to scale, uh, and deliver more boats to people. And so within, within the U. S., um, we will be manufacturing the boats, uh, east coast and west coast.
Chris Brandt:Belfast has such a, you know, shipping, shipbuilding tradition and, you know, maritime sort of history there.
David Tyler:We were the first company to build a boat in Belfast for, I think, over 20 years when we arrived there. Um, and it's been a, it's been a great place to establish our, our HQ and our, our UK operations. Um, Belfast has a really famous heritage, um, with, um, Highlander Warfare and, you know, the ships, you know, the Titanic, but also lots of other great ships that were manufactured out of Belfast. Um, and today there's an amazing, um, advanced manufacturing Um, supply chain really focused around, um, formerly Bombardier and now Spirit Aerosystems, where they build the wings for Airbus craft. Um, and there's a lot of, uh, advanced composite manufacturers building bits for, you know, London buses and a lot of the, um, automotive manufacturers too. So there's a lot of local composite expertise, um, a lot of great technicians and really good local universities, both Ulster University and Queens University, Belfast. There's some really, you know, really smart people there. And we're certainly leveraging those capabilities locally.
Chris Brandt:Well, I am really, uh, excited to hopefully get on one of these one day and, you know, like just, you know, find a, find a ferry and, and just, you know, enjoy that ride. Um, especially on, on the, the really big ones. Uh, I think that just sounds super cool. Um, so I, I just want to say good luck. To you with everything you're doing, uh, it's a, it's a really interesting story, uh, interesting tech. And I think, you know, just on the entertainment and tourism side of things, I think it would be great for any city. I mean, I'm, I'm in Chicago. We've got a whole water taxi system. I've got a lot of good waterways here. I'm, I'm, I'm eager to see them here in Chicago. So as soon as you can get here.
David Tyler:Yeah, I think we, we were in Savannah here demonstrating to a lot of the big ferry operators in the U. S. And, um, I was actually on a call with one of them, um, one of, one of the guys that's worked in the business for a long time. And we were on a group call with lots of other people and I said, well, what did you think of it? And he said, it was boring. I think that was the best compliment he could have given us because there was no vibration. There was no diesel fumes. There was no noise from the engines whirling away. Um, it was just, it was just silent, quiet, and enjoyable.
Chris Brandt:Those diesel fumes are awful. Something about it. I just, just doesn't sit right with me. Anytime I'm on a big diesel, big diesel boat. Thanks so much for coming on and telling your story. Uh, really appreciate it and good luck in the future. Cheers, Chris. It's been great. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for watching. I'd love to hear from you in the comments. And if you could give us a like, think about subscribing and I will see you in the next one.