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SES-X Marine Technologies has just completed an equity round in excess of 30 MNOK to commercialize its hull design and associated control system for various types of maritime vessels. Amongst the investors, are the venture capital funds Momentum, Link Capital and CoFounder. “The company is very pleased with the support from investors,” says SES-X Chairman Glen Ole Rødland. “Even more important are the skills and experience the new investors bring to the board and the company.”
Glen Ole Rødland invested in the company autumn of 2021 and at the same time took on the role as Chairman of the board. He has many years of experience from the energy and maritime industry. Glen Ole is currently Chairman of the board of AqualisBraemar LOC and Prosafe, and previously he worked as a partner for the investment companies HitecVision and Ferncliff. He says the following about why he wants to spend his time on SES-X: "The Norwegian maritime industry is one of the largest and most innovative maritime industries in the world. For SES-X, it is a significant competitive advantage to be part of the Norwegian maritime cluster when commercializing the technology. The fact that Norway has been an early adopter of electric transportation and built new infrastructure for electric vehicles, means that we have access to considerable expertise also in electrification.”
Chairman Glen Ole Rødland further explains that his role is to assist the company in building a good culture, a strong organization and help the team navigate the Norwegian and international maritime market. “Introduction of new technology is demanding in a relatively conservative industry, but we see that leisure boats are leading the way in the electrification of the marine industry,” Rødland continues. “The small vessels will lead the way in converting to electric propulsion and more efficient hull solutions. SES-X has a leisure boat under construction which we will show to the market in Q3 2022.»
The new investors Momentum, CoFounder and Link Capital have extensive experience with early-stage investments. Partner in Momentum, Hilde Støle Pettersen, says that "we believe SES-X has the missing piece in the puzzle to electrify high-speed boats, and that they are in the process of finding a business model that can scale. Together, these two things allow the company to help accelerate the shift towards green solutions on water. The team has impressed us with their combined expertise in hydrodynamics, software and commercial, and not least their dedication and commitment. We look forward to supporting SES-X on the journey in the years to come.”
CoFounder Managing Partner Jan Biti agrees and further states that “we believe SES-X can become a game-changer to accelerate the transition to green transport on water and the team has all the prerequisites for success. This is our second investment in “green shipping” and there may be more to come.”
SES-X Marine Technologies has developed a unique technology for high-speed small boats and passenger ferries based on an air cushion principle. The company currently has two demonstration vessels in operation, an 18 meter long work boat and a 20 meter long fast passenger ferry. Chairman Glen Ole Rødland explains that the technology is the result of more than 20 years of research and development. “The technology reduces the energy consumption of high-speed vessels by up to 50% compared to conventional hulls,” he explains. “This is crucial for the electrification of high-speed vessels – a major challenge for electric boats has been to achieve long enough range. Our technology enables this because we need less energy to run the same distance.”