Product development involves a lot: besides the engineering of the product, an entrepreneur has to deal with sales, promotion, logistics and obtaining financing. Partners for Innovation has been assisting Edorado for a decade when applying for development and sustainability grants. 

Anything with speed fascinates Godert van Hardenbroek. The designer was previously involved in Formula Zero, with the aim of making racing cars powered by hydrogen. Since sustainability is his other passion, Mr. Van Hardenbroek started the company Edorado in 2015. ‘If you want a ship to sail as sustainably as possible it has to be slow. For example, if you sail at 6 knots (about 11 kilometres per hour), that is very efficient. More speed means more resistance and energy consumption then goes up exponentially. Very fast sailing unfortunately also costs a lot of energy,’ said Mr. Van Hardenbroek. 

Floating above the water 

Hydrofoils have been around for over 70 years. By “lifting” the boat slightly out of the water, the hydrofoil boat can sail without too much resistance. ‘Therein lies the key. Hydrofoils require 70-80% less energy than boats that remain in the water. So with hydrofoil technology, you can sail electrically and still achieve a high speed,’ stated the entrepreneur. 

Edorado has developed the technology for a hydrofoil system that is electric and efficient. The hydrofoil systems can be used for different vessels: speedboats, workboats or ships that carry cargo. ‘Also, our technology could be of interest to the navy,’ Mr. Van Hardenbroek said. 

While the company continues to focus on the design of the hydrofoil technology, Partners for Innovation successfully applied for a grant, allowing the company to continue designing their innovative concept. This was later followed by successful applications to a national programme, encouraging innovative research by Edorado via a lower tax rate. 

Mr. Van Harderbroek deliberately chose to work with Partners for Innovation. ‘It is easy when you don’t have to explain exactly what we do, and why we do things the way we do,’ Mr. Van Hardenbroek said. ‘Partners for Innovation understands our business like no other. Besides, we have been working together for so long that a lot of mutual understanding has developed.’ 

 CO₂ saving on powertrain 

 When applying for subsidies, entrepreneur van Hardenbroek regularly must explain the contribution his company makes to reducing CO₂. ‘There are all sorts of calculations to be made and it varies quite a bit per category of vessel. For instance, pleasure craft take to the water much more incidentally than ships used by professionals, which directly affects the reduction that can be realised’. Also, speedboats are seen as an (elitist) hobby, it is thought that that sector itself should take care of some emissions reduction. ‘I see it slightly differently: reducing emissions is simply a task for all of us: ultimately, it will have to be tackled – regardless of how those emissions were created,’ Mr. van Hardenbroek concluded.