The idea of an electric outboard may be nothing new but the RAD40 drive from British startup RAD Propulsion appears to be far more than just a conventional outboard leg with an electric motor bolted on top.
Every single element of it has been designed from the ground up to maximise the benefits of electric power. The result is a brand new drive system that is not only much cleaner, quieter and more efficient than a petrol outboard engine but also smaller, lighter, cheaper to maintain and even more manoeuvrable.
In its current 40kW guise (equivalent to around 55hp) it’s powerful enough to propel everything from a 25-knot planing RIB to a 10-knot displacement craft but with a larger 160hp RAD120 as well as a portable tiller steered RAD2 already in development, it’s clear that RAD Propulsion has its eyes set on a much wider market.
BRITISH INGENUITY
The company was founded by naval architecture graduates Richard Daltry and Dan Hock in 2018. Having already successfully built and sold a business making autonomous surface vessels (unmanned drones) for surveying the sea bed or to act as target vessels for naval training, they turned their attention to helping commercial and leisure boats transition to a greener future. As self-confessed geeks, their vision was for a
