After moving to East Greenwich, Rhode Island, a few years ago, Flux Marine has supercharged its business. Coming off its debut at the Newport International Boat Show, where Flux Marine notched a win for its electric boat motor, the company’s leaders are looking forward to 2022 as they continue to grow their team, increase production capabilities and create a nationwide dealer network.
According to Flux Marine CEO Ben Sorkin, there is huge demand for electric alternatives for recreational boating, but boaters are unwilling to sacrifice performance to “go green.”
Currently, recreational marine outboards are not required to have catalytic converters, which scrub much of the harmful particles from vehicle engine exhaust. This creates an estimated 150 million gallons of unburned gasoline from recreational boating alone, according to the company.
To meet the demand for environmentally conscious products, Flux Marine completely redesigned its outboard motor to an all-electric design, which, Sorkin said, also eliminates many of the maintenance pain points of traditional combustion motors. The motors are also compatible with standard 120V, 240V and EV charging stations.
“With a viable alternative at our disposal, and one that does not sacrifice performance, continuing to pollute our waterways and air is simply unsustainable,” Sorkin said. “Our electric outboard design is completely scalable to meet just about any power output, but the current limiting factor to scaling to larger boats is striking a balance in the weight and space needed for battery components.”
Sorkin said the company’s debut at the Newport International Boat Show this past summer was a great milestone for the whole team.
“The reaction from boaters, boat builders and the industry in general has been amazing,” Sorkin said. “Since the show, we’ve been fielding preorders for our current lineup of 15HP, 40HP and 70HP all-electric outboards and our boat packages. We’re looking forward to 2022 being a big year for Flux Marine as we continue to scale our team, expand production capabilities and build out a nationwide dealer network.”
He said the company is currently in the preorder phase for its outboard motor and battery systems, as well as its complete boat packages.
“In the coming year, we’re anticipating the release of additional motors and boat packages,” he said.
Although Flux Marine is relatively new to Rhode Island, the company has been active in New England from its start. Sorkin said the company, which includes co-founders Daylin Frantin and Jon Lord, as well as the rest of the development team, has received numerous awards and been invited to several accelerator programs, including a catalyst grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and entrance as a 2018 MassChallenge member.
“When the pandemic hit, we were looking for space where we could continue to scale our facilities and start building our outboards, which led us to East Greenwich,” Sorkin said. “Rhode Island has a rich history of boating and the sheer concentration of skilled marine industry skills and know-how were very attractive to us.”.
Since moving to the Ocean State, Flux Marine has won the 2020 Rhode Island Business Competition and received an innovation voucher from the RI Commerce Corporation.
