Engines designed by Ruban Bleu
Founded in 1992, the Ruban Bleu company is a pioneer in the development of electric boats for river rental bases and protected waterways. After more than 20 years of purchasing its engines from foreign suppliers, the company decided in 2019 to develop its own models. "Historically, we used to bring our motors from Austria or the United States. Faced with difficult relations with suppliers and thanks to our good knowledge of our customers and the feedback from river renters, we decided to start producing our own engines. We found a French company that played the game with us to carry out the development in partnership. It delivers the engines 80% finished and we finish it at Ruban Bleu, adding the fins and other elements" explains Thibault de Veyrinas, director of Ruban Bleu.
A propeller designed for electric boats
As development progressed, Ruban Bleu developed several models of electric motors. The first of the range, in 24 V, equips Ruban Bleu boats since 2019. It has since been joined by a 12 V model for low power. "We are now entering phase 3 with the design of a 48 V motor for the largest powers, enabling us to reach 4.5 kW, the maximum for boats without a licence. But we also wanted to go further, by developing a specific propeller for the needs of electric power, which seeks above all to limit consumption and not speed. To achieve this, we are working with a school in Nantes, ICAM. We're a little against the current of what's happening at the moment with high voltages and high consumption," stresses Thibault de Veyrinas.
A development axis beyond the river for Ruban Bleu
Through its motorization activity, Ruban Bleu wishes to widen its offer and reinforce its solidity. "It is a strategic development axis for the company, after our 1st evolution in the services of accompaniment to the assembly of boat rental bases. In 2020, we delivered 150 engines, 90% of them for our boats and the spare and replacement parts for our rental base customers. We are going to set up re-engining packages for sailboats for port exit and entry manoeuvres, with a grid per type of boat. We already equipped some dragons. I think it will be important to be ready for the growth of electric boat motors at sea when the problem of storage is resolved," concludes the director of Ruban Bleu.
