Swedish electric ferry startup Candela has raised €30m from the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, alongside existing investors EQT Ventures, SEB Private Equity, KanDela and Ocean Zero.
The round brings Stockholm-based Candela’s total capital raised to €129m since its inception in 2014, making it the best-funded electric vessel manufacturer globally.
The new capital will be used to scale the production of its hydrofoil craft. The system, which uses underwater wings to lift the hull above the water, uses 80% less energy than other high-speed vessels when it “flies”, according to the company.
In the last couple of years, the company has targeted the growing global market for electric waterborne transport. With current orders of 65 vessels, Candela is opening a second factory, outside of its native Stockholm, in Poland, where it will apply scalable, platform-based serial production, according to CEO and founder Gustav Hasselskog.
“By moving away from small-series production — which inevitably drives high costs — we’ve built a platform that serves multiple markets,” says Hasselskog. “This allows us to deliver technologically advanced carbon-fibre vessels with industry-leading operating costs at a competitive price point.”
Read more: How is it to drive a flying vessel? Sifted tried it out.
Candela’s 30-passenger vessels have already been used in pilot projects for public transport in Sweden and Norway and it has several contracts, including in India, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project, Thailand and elsewhere.
Climate tech investments have declined in recent years. Between 2024 and 2025, investments in the European sector slumped by €10bn, from €28bn to €18bn, according to Sifted data. Hasselskog believes that this funding round defies the broader downturn.
“In a market where climate tech funding is down around 50% since 2021, raising our largest round ever sends a clear signal: the transition is moving beyond subsidies and green premiums,” he says.
