New Zealand venture capital firm Movac has led an oversubscribed Series A investment round in electric marine propulsion system company ZeroJet.  

The round was also supported by Australian firm Investible’s Climate Tech Fund, Booster Innovation Fund (NZX: BIF), along with family offices, high net-worth individuals and existing investors, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners’ Impact Enterprise Fund, and K1W1.

 ZeroJet claims to have developed the world’s first turnkey electric jet propulsion system for boats, a technology the company’s founders believe can replace combustion engines.

 The funding is to be used to improve the production process for ZeroJet’s initial 20hp system, ramp up sales and marketing internationally and expand the team to support R&D and sales growth.

Movac partner Mark Stuart said: “ZeroJet’s technology is an innovative answer to a global trend toward electrification. They’re at the cutting edge of marine electrification with significant hardware IP and well-positioned to take a global leadership position, particularly given New Zealand’s strong history of innovation in the marine industry.”

ZeroJet chief executive and co-founder Bex Rempel said: “Within the nascent marine electrification niche, the time is right for disruption and ZeroJet has a significant opportunity to capture value on both the strength of our product and a proven go-to-market strategy.”

ZeroJet has initially focused on developing a propulsion unit suitable for tenders as this delivers material improvement to boating safety (no propellers) as well as eliminating pollution generated by combustion engine outboard motors. In addition, the fully enclosed, silent system is claimed to provide 50% better performance than a combustion engine outboard of a similar power rating. The shallow profile jet system also enables tenders to be used in shallower waters.

ZeroJet’s pilot production run has achieved offshore sales in countries including the Bahamas, Finland, Singapore and Fiji. In addition, the company expects to soon announce significant partnerships with three leading international boat builders. These multi-year orders are expected to lead to repeatable sales which will help the company scale up and develop versions of its product for larger boats.

Co-founder and chief technology officer Neil Mans believes increasing environment awareness and likely stronger environment legislation will provide a tailwind for sales. He anticipates that within ten years new boats with engines below 40hp will all be electric.

“Up until now, there simply weren’t enough options for climate conscious boaties,” he said. “We have solar panels and battery packs for our houses; and we have a myriad of choices when it comes to electric cars – but high-performance electric motors for those wanting to enjoy their boating more responsibly are still a rarity. There is, quite literally, a ready-made market out there for products that can deliver an experience equal to or even better than combustion engines.”

Image: ZeroJet founders Bex Rempel and Neil Mans with their technology.