FEATURE | A new fully electric water taxi sails Lake Garda in northern Italy

By Gabriele Zambianchi - March 21, 2019.

RepowerE, Italy’s first all-electric water taxi, was presented at the Genoa Boat Show, and officially introduced at the end of 2018 with a test tour on Lake Garda.

Born thanks to an idea of local tour operator Bertoldi Boats, she is the evolution of Become, which was launched in 2016.

The design is able to carry 14 people seated, and the designer has proposed three different versions depending on the configuration: basic, business and luxury. These versions are also offered in an alternative layout, with or without the superstructure.

The boat, 10.50 metres long for a beam of three metres, is made by vacuum fibreglass. The two engines are full-electric, with different powers, ranging from 11 to 20 kW each.

The Repower Group has been active in the electricity sector for over 100 years and its headquarters is in Poschiavo, Canton Grigoni, Switzerland.

Gabriele Zambianchi

Gabriele Zambianchi was born in 1986 in Lecco, a beautiful town located on the east branch of the Como Lake. As a child, spending his holidays in Rimini, a tourist vocation city on the Adriatic Sea, he discovered his passion for passenger vessels. He has written for Baird Maritime and Italian magazine Il Battelliere - Nautica Professionale since 2013.

Tags: Bertoldi Boats feature Italy Lake Garda Repower Group RepowerE Sirmione Switzerland water taxi WBW newbuild