Quietly, the SeaBubble glides over the sometimes choppy waters of Lake Annecy. Designed for five people, the Bubble, like a boat flying on water, sails at 12 knots (22 km/h), nearly double the speed of traditional boats with comparable engines.
By providing two rotations per day from July 1 to August 31 (among the other eight electric boat rotations), SeaBubbles aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save one hundred tonnes of CO₂. This short half-hour of river navigation is also a world first for paid public transport with an electric foiling boat duly approved by the public authorities. The meteorological limitation of navigation is not very restrictive as long as the waves do not reach 50 to 60 cm high, a rare phenomenon on the lake.
“This original initiative was favored by the political will of the Greater Annecy conurbation and the partnership of other operators of electric boats on the lake”, welcomes Virginie Seurat, general manager of SeaBubbles, a start-up based in Saint-Jorioz. (Haute-Savoie), which thus receives regional aid for the launching of its boats. A 12-seater model is being tested and a hybrid electric-hydrogen formula is being tested.
The decarbonization of transport on the lake is targeted. But not only. The SeaBubble evolves silently. It produces no waves, which protects the banks of the lake, which are damaged by the eddies of conventional boats. For the passenger, it’s more comfort and no seasickness…