RiAlAiR

RiAlAiR offers the first real Electric Boat solution for professional users in sectors untouched until now, such as fishing and passenger boats up to 50 gross tons. At the core of our business model is Aluminium-Air battery technology. By moving from fossil-based fuels to our electric solution, boat owners and operators will also obtain a cleaner, safer, lighter boat with longer range autonomy.

Our subscription service will offer owners and operators a combined total of capital repayment (including interest) plus operating daily costs which will be lower than the current daily costs faced by professional boat users, which means more money in their pockets at the end of every working day… and increasingly over time.

We can achieve this through positive and active collaboration with:

• • local, established partners in each country to retrofit electric motors and batteries on existing fishing and taxi boats;
  • microcredit partners to support boat-owners and assist them with 100% of the initial capex;
  • selected suppliers of components and raw materials;
  • Fishermen and sailors organization and cooperatives.

We do not need to neither own nor lease the boats our self  as they are and remain owned by their current operators or leased by our partners.

At macro level, with the first marine solution of its kind, we create local jobs, clean up the air and water and reduce national trade deficit for those countries that currently import fuel for their fishing industry and we can enter profitable markets anywhere as our approach can be applied to millions of boats globally.

RiAlAiR Group is aiming to provide an effective, efficient and sustainable energy solution in the marine environment (fishing boats, water taxi, recreational boats), by exploiting the high capacity and lightness of Al-Air electrochemistry and then evolve it in the larger setting of ships and ferries.

RiAlAiR was born from the collaboration of a team of friends and colleagues aiming to change electric mobility for the better and  create waves of positive impact. Our management team boasts well over 200 years of combined managerial, technical and entrepreneurial international experience across industries such as energy, renewables, telecommunications, oil and gas, construction, healthcare and information technology. Everyone in the management team is a seasoned professional and an expert leader in his or her field.

The Al-Air cell is generically composed of the following elements:

• • An aluminium negative electrode (anode), giving up electrons with oxidation, that will consist of Al, either pure or as an alloy.
  • A positive electrode (cathode), accepting electrons and enabling oxygen transport and reduction, often by means of a catalyst. The materials could be among others, carbon, graphite, manganese dioxide, PTFE, titanium dioxide, nanotube arrays and graphene, with a nickel or stainless steel, conducting electrode .
  • A suitable electrolyte for the transfer of ions between the anode and the cathode. This is typically an aqueous alkaline solution consisting of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH) or neutral such as sodium chloride (NaCl).

The RiAlAiR Battery Components

Aluminium–Air (Al–Air) batteries are primary cells, thus non-electrically rechargeable. The aluminium anode immersed in a water-based electrolyte is consumed by its reaction with atmospheric oxygen (the cathode). Aluminium–Air batteries produce electricity from the reaction of the oxygen in the air with the aluminium anode. 

The by-product of this reaction is hydrated Aluminium oxide (Aluminium Hydroxide). Once all the Aluminium reacts to form Aluminium Hydroxide, the battery will no longer produce electricity.

The good news is that not only it is possible to recharge mechanically the battery by replacing the exhaust anodes with new Aluminium anodes, but it is also possible to recycle the Aluminium Hydroxide, so that the cycle is 100% environmentally friendly and no emissions are released into water or air.

Al-Air batteries have one of the highest energy densities of all batteries because part of the reactants come from the air. Since Aluminium is a lightweight metal and the cathode reactant, oxygen, does not have to be stored in the battery, an Al-Air battery is considerably lighter than a comparable Lithium-Ion battery.

RiAlAiR Inboard Conversion Package

See it in 3D…

Any vessel moving in the water shall overcome different forces:

• • Propeller resistance;
  • Wave resistance;
  • Hull friction;
  • Wake resistance;
  • Air resistance.

For displacement hulls, also its length is an important factor and in general terms, the longer the hull, the higher the speed it could achieve.

To provide propulsion power for a vessel, power and speed are broadly related by a near cubic equation. Many fishing boats tend to use relatively low powered two-stroke or four-stroke gasoline engines or diesel engines. The efficiency of this engines is between 20% to 25% for the former and up to 45% for the latter. But in all cases the actual power delivered to the propeller, to overcome the water resistance, is within 10% to 15% of the power available in the fuel, mainly due to the thermal and mechanical losses of the powertrain.

The electric motor and rechargeable battery are major components of electric vessels propulsion system. The output power from the motor is absorbed by the load, in this case the propeller represents the load to the motor, and boat speed corresponds to the thrust created by propeller rotation. Compared to conventional engines mounted in boats, electric motors have different performance characteristics described by torque-speed curves that produce the efficiency map of the device. An electric motor, with its constant torque can utilize a larger propeller than those used by combustion engines and the overall efficiency of the electric powertrain is therefore much higher.

Despite the big advantage in terms of efficiency, the most limiting factor for the use of a full electric powertrain on vessels is the low energy density of the current secondary battery solutions (mostly Lithium-ions). With RiAlAiR primary batteries this issue can be solved.

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