Electric boatbuilder moving to Honiton

How do you plug it in?

A company that makes parts for the country's first fully electric workboat is moving to East Devon.

Coastal Workboats Limited (CWL) is building a new headquarters at Honiton’s Heathpark Industrial Estate where it will secure 30 local jobs.

The company has received £6 million from the government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition fund towards a £9 million project which will deliver the UK’s first fully-electric workboat and charging station.

Electric boats already exist, but so far they have only been used for leisure. CWL’s project will be the first to demonstrate their commercial potential.

The purpose-built Electric Landing Utility Vessel (E-LUV) will be demonstrated for four weeks in the Shetland Isles in a workboat capacity, running inter-island routes. Most workboats are operated in areas with low or low grid power to support the recharging of vessels.

East Devon District Council is claiming credit for the move, saying the process was guided by its economic development team.

Councillor Paul Hayward, EDDC’s Portfolio Holder for Economy and Assets, says the company "has led the way in developing new clean and sustainable ways of powering vessels. This is exactly the sort of investment which the district needs to help us grow our green economy and help us reach net zero."

The building will be completed next year, uses solar and ground source heating and will have electric vehicle charging points.