So this is what it looks like, the best hydrogeneration on the market: the new HighPower ServoProp 25 stands like a showpiece in the centre of Oceanvolt’s production hall. The Finnish manufacturer of electric motor systems for sailboats is rightly proud of its latest electric motor.
The saildrive with hydrogeneration won the Overall Dame Award at the Metstrade in November 2023. Thanks to its innovative concept, it was recognised as the best propulsion and drive system of 2023. The award for the patented 48 volt propulsion system recognises not only electric boating, but also Oceanvolt’s many years of research and development in Finland.
I had a meeting with Commercial Director Alec von Weissenberg at Oceanvolt‘s headquarters in Helsinki. Another HighPower ServoProp 25 was installed in a test tank, and Alec von Weissenberg explained the principle: „What you see here is a 3-phase permanent magnet motor, as used in electric cars, with maximum torque at low revolutions. The efficiency is very high at 95% and, as you can hear, it runs very quietly.
float is free
... and openly readable for everyone. Support us now as a 💙 float friend to keep it that way. Your contribution makes float strong. I'm in!The cooling system is integrated in the motor and leg. The seawater from the leg cools the motor all around and exits at the other side of the leg. So you don’t need any additional pumps in the boat for the motor system.“
The principle works like an outboard motor. Only the positive and negative cables lead into the boat to the batteries and a data cable to the CAN bus system, which processes the energy data and forwards it to the plotter. The motor is installed in the boat and the leg is firmly attached to the hull.
Oceanvolt calls the flexible mounting a flex mount: the flexmount consists of two parts, and the outer part is laminated into the hull, the inner part is connected to the motor. In the event of a collision, only the leg tears off and the hull remains intact. An important safety feature when travelling on the ocean. The HighPower ServoProp motor delivers a continuous 25 kW and achieves a maximum output of 30 kW (equivalent to an 80 hp diesel engine).
The Commercial Director, a sailor himself, shares this enthusiasm with his colleagues. This shared love for sailing helps them understand exactly what sailors need and what’s missing in the market. Their strategy is simple: deeply understand sailing, spot what’s lacking, and then invent a solution. A great example is their HighPower ServoProp 25, a product born from recognizing a specific need among sailors that wasn’t being met.
By combining their sailing experience with their technical skills, the Oceanvolt team creates innovative products that truly meet sailors’ needs. Their work shows how being part of the community you serve can lead to groundbreaking ideas and solutions.
The inventor of the new HighPower ServoProp 25, Kari Marttila, stands next to him and demonstrates the running motor. Before joining Oceanvolt, the engineer worked as an expert for 20 years. Kari, amongst one of the experienced mechanical and electrical engineers, have designed the motor that incorporates more than 20 years of experience and a great deal of know-how.
Propeller with perfect angle
The special feature of the HighPower ServoProp 25 system is that it can also function as a hydrogenerator and feed energy back into the battery system via the propeller blades. In addition to the entire propeller rotating like normally, the propeller blades rotate 360° with this system, allowing for precise blade pitch control. “This provides the best efficiency both when travelling forward and backwards. When travelling forward, the blades rotate to be in line with the water flow, meaning virtually no drag when under sail. If you want to regenerate, at the press of a button the system adjusts the angle of the propeller blades to exactly the right position to optimise energy generation.”
