Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Hack Osaka competition has awarded the Expo 2025 and JETRO Osaka Award to sustainable mobility company MobyFly from Switzerland. The technology start-up from Collonges (canton of Valais) develops zero-emission hydrofoil boats. The new consul of Switzerland in Osaka, Felix Moesner, accepted the award on behalf of MobyFly.
MobyFly develops electric transport boats with zero carbon emissions (© MobyFly).
Japanese partners
The HackOsaka award will allow the young company from Switzerland to collaborate with the organization of the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, the Japan External Trade Organization JETRO, and the new Swissnex bureau in Osaka. For example, MobyFly will now be looking for local partners in Japan to develop the final products.
“We did it! Congratulations to our incredible team who worked very hard to achieve this,” said MobyFly co-founder Sue Putallaz in a post on the network Linkedin. The start-up will now begin its first funding round to finance the commercialization of the 10-meter prototype hydrofoil boat and the delivery of the 18-meter boats that have been already signed.
The International Maritime Organization’s global agreement of 2018 aims to cutting total shipping greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050. However, the EU has even higher ambitions with a reduction goal for all transport emissions of at least 90%.
Carbon-neutral transport
MobyFly’s mission is to design, develop and build the most technologically advanced, zero-emission, mass transit hydrofoil boats in the world. Their hydrofoil boats can carry from 12 up to 300 passengers comfortably above the waves at speeds above 70 km/h. However, such boats would need up to 70 percent less energy than current diesel ferries.
The Swiss hydrofoil boats are developed to be future-proof, receiving regular hardware and software updates. As a result, they are always cutting-edge and, as current battery and hydrogen technology improves, perform with ever greater efficiency. The award indicates that such boats may transport visitors to the exhibition in Osaka Bay.
Efficient business model
MobyFly designs the boats, develops and integrates the core subsystems, like the foiling control system, the retractable foil-propulsion units, and the battery swapping interfaces. It acquires other subsystems from specialized partner manufacturers, like the batteries and the powertrain, and subcontracts and supervises the production and assembly of the boat structure and the subsystems.
The company performs the tuning and validation tests, sells the boats to the clients, and provides close technical support services to the clients throughout the boat life-cycle including upgrades. Where possible, the boat structure production and assembly are licensed to shipyards in the country the boats are delivered to. MobyFly’s revenue comes mainly from the sale of boats, the cloud and software adherence, maintenance, and upgrades. Also, carbon credit paid by industries that cannot decarbonize their activities will contribute to income.
Text: SCCIJ with material of MobyFly
