New possibilities of electric water transport are being tested in Klaipėda

“My team and I are currently working intensively on developing the hydrodynamic properties of our product – in order to increase the smoothness of the underwater part of the ship, we have achieved good results. At the same time, we deepen our knowledge about technological solutions for electrification and aim to apply them in practice”, explained Tomas Vēlius, the founder and manager of the Popa Boat startup.

The latest tests carried out on the river showed that the platform of the updated design can develop 15 km/h. speed – this parameter is about 30% higher than the average for Popa Boat catamarans produced so far.

Company photo/Port city startup “Popa Boat” uses the winter season to improve and test electric water transport solutions.

The team first checks its hypotheses, aimed at the further modernization of electric catamarans, using various simulations in the production premises of the Klaipėda Science and Technology Park. Thoroughly prepared drawings are transformed here into prototypes, which are then tested in real conditions.

The project of creating and introducing a new model catamaran to the market is being implemented in cooperation with Klaipėda City Municipality, which is developing an initiative to make more active use of the Danė River for passenger transportation. With the active involvement of the public sector, this summer the start-up presented the first electric water bus developed in Lithuania, which ran successfully throughout the warm season.

Popa Boat manager T. Vėlius says that the company’s ambition to develop solutions in the field of public water transport and the desire to offer attractive entertainment on the water go hand in hand.

Company photo/Port city startup “Popa Boat” uses the winter season to improve and test electric water transport solutions.

Electric catamarans with an innovative design for leisure cruises have already become a regular attribute of the Danė river – the service, which has been offered for the fourth year, is not lacking in popularity among Klaipėda residents and city guests. The attraction also attracted the attention of other municipalities rich in water bodies – next summer, the small four-seater “Popa Boat” catamarans will probably already be seen in Trakai. The team is also looking for other locations and niches for business development both in Lithuania and abroad.

Company photo/Port city startup “Popa Boat” uses the winter season to improve and test electric water transport solutions.

“Analyzing the evaluations of existing and potential customers, we see that we are moving in the right direction – people are impressed by the opportunity to spend time near and on the water, using a sustainable, quiet and extremely easy-to-use device. From the feedback, we also get valuable insights about the potential new possibilities of adapting these catamarans for larger groups of vacationers, for various types of events on the water – we aim to respond to this with improved technological solutions,” noted T. Vėlius.