ZeroJet expands in Europe to meet demand with new Southampton office
Building on awards received at METSTRADE 2023 from Dame Design and for the innovative boat builder integration project with Highfield Boats, electric propulsion company ZeroJet is now establishing a sales office in Southampton to better service increasing demand for its 18kW electric jet unit.
ZeroJet has come of age this year with its first product, the electric jet propulsion for small boats, now in production. Their mission to revolutionise the small electric boat market with both fun and quality is progressively being realised. The product offers small boat owners a safe, yet high performing and manoeuvrable solution, thanks to a unique mix and optimisation of electric and hydrodynamic technologies. This results in a fun experience that isn’t possible with traditional propellor based electric alternatives. Its proprietary motor design is 60% smaller than other similar products, resulting in a compact design, freeing up precious space on small boats.
Applications and Integrations
A common application of ZeroJet’s product is as a propulsion system for tenders which are used for larger boats. With many yacht management and insurance companies considering banning lithium-ion batteries onboard yachts due to safety concerns, the Lithium Iron Phosphate technology implemented by ZeroJet provides a much safer solution to provide boat owners and captains peace of mind.
A number of leading boat builders are well into their development programmes to integrate ZeroJet’s electric jet solution into their 2024 boat release programmes, and several new boat launches this year will be ZeroJet Powered™.
Prestol Composites is one such company that, over the past few months, has been diligently working to optimise their hull design specifically to accommodate the ZeroJet electric jet system. With a background in designing world-class composite structures for Olympic athletes competing in kayak, canoe, and bobsleigh events, they are transferring this expertise into the electric boat market. Now launching as SPARK Boats, this Latvian-based boatbuilder is already accepting orders for their lightweight composite tender with an integrated ZeroJet Powered™ solution (www.spark-boats.com).
To better support existing customers with their product rollouts and to help new customers with their boat design and integration projects, ZeroJet are pleased to announce the establishment of a base in Europe. Declan Price and Matt Forbes will head up the sales and support operation, based out of Southampton on the UK’s south coast. Declan will be returning to the UK after spearheading ZeroJet’s sales from New Zealand and Matt Forbes brings his extensive boat builder knowledge across the European Market to the team. Says ZeroJet CEO Mark Robotham:
“We have outgrown our ability to meet the high level of interest and support required to service the European market, so the timing is right to build our European team”.
Company background
ZeroJet’s initial company roots came from serial entrepreneurs and co-founders Neil Mans and Bex Rempel’s success in high performance powered surfboards, resulting in a number of records including 75 km/hour electric powered vessels. Ultimately pivoting the business in 2019 to apply their technologies into the small boat arena led to the birth of the ZeroJet brand and business.
"Up until now, there simply weren't enough options for climate-conscious boat enthusiasts who wanted a boat that was not only environmentally friendly but fun to drive. We want to bring the buzz into electric boats rather than the traditional putt-putt solutions available previously for small boats” says ZeroJet CTO & Co-Founder Neil Mans.
Partnerships, Funding & Awards to Date
In 2020, they raised seed capital, and with their new team of 10, successfully built an electric jet tender in partnership with Offshore Cruising Tenders. Receiving positive feedback and learning from this first-generation system, ZeroJet doubled their team size, refined their product, and began to gain international traction.
In 2022, ZeroJet raised a Series A round, led by Venture capital company, Movac. The oversubscribed round also garnered support from Australia’s Investible Climate Tech Fund, the NZX listed Booster Innovation Fund as well as family offices, high net worth individuals and repeat investment from NZGCP, Impact Enterprise Fund and K1W1. The company was also recognised and awarded the 2023 NZ Hi-Tech Startup Company of The Year Award.
During 2023, system performance and efficiency were enhanced with the design and development of a new jet pump and an in-house purpose-built electric motor. This Generation 2 system was showcased at METSTRADE 2023 in Amsterdam, and the partnership with Highfield Boats, the world’s leading aluminium RIB manufacturer, was recognised in the Boat Builder Supply Chain Collaboration Award category. These accolades demonstrate industry recognition of their innovative product, offering further proof of the fast growing marine electric market.
A bright future ahead
“ZeroJet’s intellectual property with its compact electric motor and system, combined with the exciting user experience and more importantly the impressive list of boat builders who are creating great boats with our systems makes ZeroJet a company worth watching.” says CEO, Mark Robotham.
“We look forward to growing the business in 2024 in partnership with new and existing boat builders and investors as this exciting sector and our success takes form.”
For more information on ZeroJet, visit zerojet.com.
About ZeroJet
ZeroJet is a fast growing and exciting start-up developing high performance electric jet propulsion systems for boats. ZeroJet designs and manufactures electric jet propulsion systems for tenders, meeting the growing demand for powerful, quiet, safe, sustainable and reliable boating. The New Zealand based company was founded with the goal of eliminating the need for combustion engines on small watercraft.