Getting from one end of Lake Tahoe to another could soon become easier, as the first electric hydrofoil ferry in the United States is expected to debut at the popular tourist destination.
The “flying” ferry, which uses computer controlled hydrofoil wings to lift its hull above the water, is a joint venture of Swedish tech company Candela and U.S. operator FlyTahoe. A similar launch took place in Stockholm last month.
The Candela P-12 ferry will make the north-south trip across the lake in just 30 minutes, saving passengers a drive around the lake that typically takes about three hours.
Millions make the drive around Lake Tahoe each year—admiring its beauty while at the same time polluting it, said Ryan Meinzer, founder and CEO of FlyTahoe.
“This road sediment isn’t just causing damage to lungs and the air, but it’s also ending up [in] the lake,“ he told The Epoch Times. ”Essentially, Lake Tahoe is a large watershed, and in fact, this is one of the largest contributors to the degradation of the clarity of the famous blue cobalt lake that we love.”
There were over 15 million visitors to Tahoe last year, and about 20,000 trips a day between the north and south of the lake, Meinzer said. “This is why FlyTahoe has decided to focus its primary efforts on that particular route.”
In an announcement on Nov. 21, Candela said the hydrofoil ferry is the world’s fastest electric vessel at 25 knots, or about 30 miles an hour, with a range of about 40 nautical miles. It cuts energy consumption by 80 percent compared to other vessels due to the design of its wings, which lift the hull above the water and reduce drag. This, in combination with technology and sensors to balance the vessel, provides “a silent and smooth ride,” the announcement said.
“It basically works like a jet fighter, which is constantly balanced using ailerons. The principle of the P-12 is the same, except our wings fly in water instead of air,” said Gustav Hasselskog, CEO and founder of Candela. Ailerons are small hinged sections on the outboard portion of an aircraft’s wing.
Meinzer hopes to have a fleet of electric hydrofoil ferries traversing Lake Tahoe in the future, but for now, the company is under contract for just one.
Meinzer says one of his biggest challenges is working with local laws and complying with federal regulations like the Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters.
“We, of course, need to make sure that we’re complying with all safety standards and inspection standards, because at the end of the day, this is a vessel that is flying across a lake,” he said.
Meinzer also cited infrastructure considerations such as charging. “This electrification of waterways is relatively new,” he said, and while there are some electric boat charging stations in and around Lake Tahoe, “we need more.”
“A rising tide lifts all boats. In that respect, the more electric chargers are installed around the marinas of the lake, the better it is for anyone who has electric boats in the lake, not just FlyTahoe.”
Meinzer explained that if the ferry’s range is 40 miles fully charged and the lake is about 20 miles across, it can make a round trip on one charge.
The cost for a one-way trip across the lake is expected to be about $50, Meinzer said. Eventually, he hopes to lower the price with government grants.
The hydrofoil will be able to ferry up to 30 people across the lake per trip, and is wheelchair accessible, with storage for snowboards, skis, and bikes.
FlyTahoe has not finalized pickup and drop-off destinations, boat storage, or parking options yet, Meinzer said.
A spokesperson for Candela told The Epoch Times that the hydrofoil ferry is expected to begin operations in late 2025 or the first half of 2026.
