Jaguar Uses Technology From its Formula E Cars To Break World Electric Boat Speed Record

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The Jaguar Vector Racing team has taken Jaguar’s Formula E technology into the water and set a new world and national electric speed record for a battery-powered boat. The new record of 88.6 miles per hour is a more than 10 mile per hour improvement over the previous record of 76.8 miles per hour.

The new top speed is the average speed achieved across the two legs of the 1-kilometer course on Coniston Water, England. The 295bhp Jaguar Vector Racing powerboat was designed and constructed by the Jaguar Vector, along with support from Williams Advanced Engineering.

“After 12 months of hard work, this is a fantastic result for the team and our partners and a great first step in bringing the power and versatility of electrification to the marine industry,” Jaguar Vector Racing CEO Malcolm Crease shared. “It is a great honour for the Vector team to follow in the footsteps of Donald Campbell CBE and to set a world record on the historic Coniston Water.”

Coniston Water has been the go-to body of water for high speed watercraft attempts at world records for decades, including an unfortunate end to the famous 1967 attempt by Donald Campbell in his Bluebird K7 to break the world watercraft speed record that hit an astonishing 320 miles per hour before it lifted out of the water and crashed.

The Jaguar Vector sees its work as only just starting after Jaguar joined the Vector team in October of last year in an attempt to push electric watercraft to their limits. The team will continue to develop its technology in an 18-month-long push aimed at maximizing the performance of electric watercraft technology and to break the record yet again.

“Williams Advanced Engineering is proud to have supported this new world record by Jaguar Vector Racing by using our award-winning knowledge of electrification to provide the boat’s electric power, motor and control systems,” managing director of Williams Advanced Engineering Craig Wilson related. “Our experience from powering the entire Formula E grid for the past four seasons of racing and our ongoing partnership with Jaguar in the ABB FIA Formula E championship provided the technical and operational platform required to achieve this fantastic result. Congratulations to all involved in this wonderful achievement.”

High speed powerboats are not significant contributors to global emissions but the global shipping industry is. A breakthrough report in 2008 by John Vidal at The Guardian revealed that cargo ships were responsible for nearly 4.5% of global CO2 emissions

Since that time, the world has been fervently searching for the best technological solution to global cargo ship emissions with solutions ranging from Norwegian hybrid options to a resurgence in wind powered boats to the fully electric Chinese monolith designed to move goods over short distances with its 2,400 kWh battery allowing it to move 2200 tons of cargo just 50 miles at 8 miles per hour.

It is an exciting time in watercraft technology as the world searches for and builds the solutions for the next generation of cargo boats. The technology developed by the Jaguar Vector Racing team in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering serves to move the ball forward just a bit while also raising the level of excitement of the general public about electric watercraft. That’s a win in my book.

Images courtesy Jaguar Vector Racing


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Kyle Field

I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. As an activist investor, Kyle owns long term holdings in Tesla, Lightning eMotors, Arcimoto, and SolarEdge.

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