John Deere Buys Electric Speedboat Battery Maker
Engine and equipment manufacturer John Deere has purchased a majority stake in Kreisel Electric, the manufacturer of the batteries that will be used in the RaceBird speedboats in the E1 Series of powerboat racing. Kreisel powers the world’s fastest production electric boat, the Carbon SAY 29.
Kriesel was founded in 2014 by three brothers, Philipp, Johann and Markus Kreisel who are from Freistadt, Austria who are known for electrifying a go-kart and even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hummer.
In addition to the batteries, John Deere was reportedly attracted by Kreisel’s Chimero high-speed charging infrastructure platform. The company says it can charge an electric vehicle from 0 to 80% in 20 minutes and is built for easier installation. This should let John Deere offer all-in-one electrification packages to marine and other industry clients.
Patented Technology
The Kreisel battery has two patented features, a system that uses a contact spring and lasers instead of welding to connect the individual cells in a battery. This results in higher conductivity and provides a fuse for each sell. The other patented feature is Kreisel’s Hollowblock cooling system that surrounds the cells with a non-conductive liquid that dissipates heat more efficiently.
The Kreisel brothers grew up in the family’s electronics store and tinkered with electric motors. They started working on electrifying a VW Beetle and rented some space in a garage to complete the project.
They quickly realized they needed to step up their battery game to achieve their e-mobility goals. The year they launched the company, they set the world acceleration record for go-karts with an electric model that ran from zero to 63 mph in 3.1 seconds. They followed this with a record in an electrified Porsche 910 run from zero to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds with a top speed of 185 mph and a range of 280 miles.
Electric Boat Record
After proving their technology on land with other records, the Kreisels were contacted by Karl Wagner, CEO of SAY Carbon Yachts. The company makes boats with internal combustion engines as large as 483 hp and Wagner wanted to pursue the world speed record for an electrically powered production boat rather than a one-off racing model.
They decided on the SAY Carbon 29 and on June 24, 2018, on Lake Zell in Austria with SAY driver Claas Wollschläger taking the helm. The team set a record of 57.7 mph and on one of the two-way passes required by Union International de Motonautique (UIM) rules, the boat topped 59 mph.
All the achievements made Kreisel the choice to partner with the UIM’s new E1 Series, the world’s first electric powerboat racing circuit. The foiling Racebirds will have a maximum peak power of 150kW and 35 kWh battery capacity.
“E1 and Kreisel’s shared vision to electrify future leisure craft made them the obvious choice as official battery partner for the championship,” said Rodi Basso, co-founder and CEO of E1. “As an engineer myself, I’m so excited to be working alongside these leaders in their field to deliver an electric powerboat and push the boundaries of performance capability.”
Staying the Course
According to plugboats.com, Kreisel Electric will retain its employees, brand name and trademark and continue to operate from its Austrian facility where it has 160 workers. “Deere will provide the expertise, global footprint and funding to help accelerate that growth in core markets,” said Pierre Guyot, senior vice president of John Deere Power Systems. “For us, their in-market experience will benefit Deere as we ramp up our battery-electric vehicle portfolio and apply it across a broad portfolio of products.”