X Shore secures $ 50 million in funding to increase production of electric boats in Sweden and increase R&D
The electric boat manufacturer X Shore recently secured its latest round of investment financing, this time worth USD 50 million (~ EUR 45.9 million). The funds will be used to increase the research and development of electrified maritime technology, and help increase the production of X Shore’s first production boat, the Eelex 8000, which began in March.
X Shore is a Swedish climate technology company and electric boat manufacturer that was originally trademarked in 1996, but it did not really start to bring zero-emission boats to life until 2016. This journey began with the X Shores Eelex 8000, which has received a number of awards and helped run the company as one of the leading names in luxury electric boats.
X Shore’s first prototype models were introduced in January 2019, crowdfunded by a $ 1.66 million (€ 1.5 million) campaign on FundedByMe. Just over a year later, X Shore secured an additional 5.7 million dollars (5 million euros) in financing, this time from Swedish business leaders and venture capitalists.
In March last year, X Shore shared the news that it is expanding from Europe to North America, and established a local congregation on American soil in 2022 while signing an agreement with BCI Marine in Canada.
In April 2021, X Shore announced its largest round of funding to date – $ 18 million (EUR 13 million) to help build the boat’s new 160,000 feet2 factory in Nyköping, Sweden. That plant has since started manufacturing the X Shores Eelex 8000, as the first production boat rolled off its assembly lines in March.
With its latest funding announcement, X Shore looks set to accelerate its production processes and expand research on future electric boat technologies.
X Shore nabs largest funding round to date to ramp boat assembly
According to a report from Plugboats, X Shore has acquired $ 50 million in new financing from previous investors in the financing round in April 2021, as well as new faces such as Peter Carlsson, founder and CEO of Northvolt batteries. Jenny Keisu, CEO of X Shore, spoke to the news:
We have received an incredible amount of support during this latest round of financing, which has resulted in oversubscribing in less than two days. In a challenging time in terms of market uncertainty, we are both proud and grateful for the enthusiasm for X Shore that has been shown by reputable investors and society at large. The funds will be used to accelerate our production capacity, to ensure that lead times for delivery are significantly reduced and also allow us to invest more in research and development, as well as to expand our sales channels globally.
X Shore’s new manufacturing facility in Sweden is currently building two Eelex 8000 boats a day – 400 per year with a five-day working week. Although they promised an American footprint in 2022, there was no mention of funding being allocated to its construction or assembly lines, but that is not to say that X Shore does not plan to do so. Current American customers will have their Eelex 8000 electric boat shipped from Sweden.
With recently announced partnerships with the marine charging network Aqua superPower and Kriesel Electric, which also supply marine batteries for the new electric boat racing series E1, X Shore has very exciting things going on. This latest and best round of financing should really help the Swedish boat manufacturer to continue to expand the use of electric cars for maritime transport.
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