General Motors to make electric boat motors

General Motors has invested heavily in a US company that produces modular electric outboard motors for recreational boats.

The world’s fourth largest car-maker announced it has invested $US150 million ($A207) to snap up a quarter share in Washington state-based Pure Watercraft, which makes electric motors for boats.

The investment reflects GM’s ambitions to become more than just an electric car maker as fossil fuels become scarce and governments worldwide roll out increasingly strict restrictions on where combustion-powered vehicles can be sold and driven.

“Building upon GM’s existing efforts to strategically deploy our technology across rail, truck and aerospace industries, the combined expertise of these two enterprises should result in future zero-emissions marine product offerings, providing consumers with more choice than before,” said GM global electrification, controls, software and electronics vice-president Dan Nicholson.

Pure Watercraft uses a traditional-looking outboard engine leg adapted to a 25kW electric motor. The key to the technology is a modular system that can pack up to 10 8.85kWh batteries on a boat to provide enough range and performance.

The outboard motor weighs only 51kg and the bespoke propeller spins only to 1500rpm. Range? That’s a rubbery figure, but it looks like it will go around 20 nautical miles in some configurations.

A complete system including a single battery costs $US16,500. Adding a second battery jumps the price by $US8500.

According to Pure Watercraft, the electric outboard motor “uses groundbreaking efficiency to benefit a boat’s performance while reducing environmental pollution, and boasts much lower operating cost and maintenance than traditional marine propulsion systems”.

The partnership will allow Pure Watercraft to tap into GM’s engineering, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities to help it develop and sell its motor.

The partnership also aims to allow the companies to develop and commercialise battery electric-watercraft and integrate GM technology into a variety of applications, along with the altruistic aim of accelerating the industry’s transition to electric mobility.

GM has previously dipped a toe into electric boat waters with the reveal of the Forward Marine First pontoon boat, a prototype powered using GM Marine Engine-developed technology adapted from the electron-fuelled side of the petrol-electric Chevrolet Volt.

The First pontoon boat had a little more mumbo – 200hp of it compared with the Pure outboard’s modest 33hp – that could push it across the water to more than 20 knots, with a bank of batteries built in under its floor.

The First project appears to have stalled shortly after the prototype was revealed in 2019.

GM has announced it will spend almost $US30 billion electrifying its car showroom, with 30 new battery-powered models due by 2025. It aims to make only EVs by 2035.