In a lot of cities across the world, boating is just a leisure activity, mostly to be explored by the tourism industry. But it’s quite a different scene in Amsterdam, as everything in this city happens on a boat. Boats are used for recreational as well as commercial purposes.
It goes without saying that the boating is one of the most common means of transport in the city after biking. However, the diesel engines of boats contribute to a lot of pollution in the air as well as the Amsterdam canals.
Hence, to make boating in Amsterdam more sustainable, two engineers Job Veltman and Folkert Roscam Abbing founded a battery startup recently, known as Voltogo. And now on July 19, this year, they will officially launch their product Voltogo AppBaterry which is basically a portable battery charger to pump up your electric boats. The USP of this electric battery is that its removable and can be charged at any water cafe near you, just in case, your e-boat goes out of battery in the middle of the waters. As informed, the startup offers a ready-to-use charging system with efficient 48V motors.
Voltogo has partnered with 4 water cafes
To make it convenient for boat owners, Voltogo has announced a partnership with four famous Amsterdam water cafes including Hannekes Boom, Mr. Nieges, Bar-Restaurant Amstelhaven, and Café de Ceuvel in the Noord.
In the company press release, Voltogo notes that boat owners can charge their batteries for free at these ‘Launching Partners,’ (but its never a harm to buy a coffee at these places in return).
To dig in deeper, Voltogo claims to be the first network of fast chargers aimed at electrifying the pleasure boats. The charging network offers 100% coverage over the central waters of Amsterdam. With its increasing charging network, it lets boat owners operate their cruise without any concerns related to charging.
It comes with a smartphone app
The AppBattery weighs 10kg and has a high capacity of 2 kWh and is said to be quite portable. It has Tesla cells along with an environment-friendly Dutch fabrication. It can be synced to the boat owner’s smartphone through Voltogo’s app, which will show the current energy level and charging points near the user.
Voltogo also claims that sloops using Voltogo engines render 50% more engine power than the existing electric motors, and its quieter as well.
Price and availability
Voltogo AppBattery is currently available on pre-order and those who will be on the first 50 list will also receive electric sailing with Voltogo. Further they will also get discounted rates. AppBattery variants for 3 different engines are available from €2,900 onwards. Meanwhile, the registration will be open until August 1.
Voltogo’s idea debuted in the big Inle Lake of Myanmar where the local population sail for short distances between villages for tourism, fishing, and normal commutes. Having realized a similar situation in the urban canals of Amsterdam, the startup has come forward to offer a practical solution to put an end to the polluting diesel engines in the city.
Pim Evers, chairman of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland department Amsterdam and involved as ‘Launching Partner’ through his co-ownership of Hannekes Boom stated, “We find it a refreshing idea that this network not only contributes to a cleaner city or attracts famines to the catering industry; but there is also a positive cooperation with the city, because it contributes to solving a backward environmental objective. And, that Hannekes Boom has been the nautical gateway to the city since 1662 – a first center of this modern network, fits seamlessly with that.”
Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more updates in the tech startup world.
01
From telecom veteran to Dutch Startup Visa success: The Jignesh Dave story