The eco-friendly catamaran that is manufactured with 3D printing
V2 Group manufactures the boat with an electric motor and 90% recyclable
The V2 Group company, with offices in Barcelona and Palma, has built the first 3D-printed, electric and 90% recyclable single-piece catamaran in Europe. The six-metre-long boat has been designed for open waters and has been able to be manufactured thanks to the 3D robotic printing technology developed by the Italian company Caracol AM. The investment in the two-year technological development project has ranged between 150,000 and 200,000 euros, excluding the cost of personnel.
V2 Group is committed to boats with electric motors and claims to be in line with market prices, with an approximate amount of 73,000 euros per catamaran. The prototype of the boat will be manufactured during 2025 in different production centres that the company plans to establish near its offices located in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. The aim of these factories would be to start in printing and machining systems and not only sell boats, but also molds and other components of the sector. The company is specialized in design, engineering of the nautical industry and use of 3D printing, which allows to speed up production, customize it according to the necessary preferences and use circular recyclability, that is, to be able to recover and recycle the materials used after the printing process and thus reduce the environmental impact.
The company was founded in 2017 to manufacture traditional boats, but in 2023 it decided to redirect itself towards technological innovation. "There was a deep reflection on the delay of the nautical industry towards the automotive industry," explains the company's CEO, Albert Chamorro, who clarifies that the automobile sector had already made a transition towards hybrid and electric models seeking sustainability, while this had not happened with the sector. The executive considers that recreational boating is a small market and that investments in technological innovation have been limited by the difficulty of projects to grow.
V2 Group believes that it has the possibility of eventually expanding into the aerospace and automotive sectors. The CEO highlights that focusing on the development of a prototype of a catamaran, considering a complete boat as the most complex floating structure that can be designed, has allowed them to understand the needs of the industry. "We started in the nautical sector, but we have realised that scalability can come in multiple directions," says Chamorro. They are now seeking to position themselves as a technology company with an eye on different sectors: "It doesn't cost us much more to make a garment for a superyoto than for the interior of a car or the cabin of an airplane." They have not ruled out jumping into markets outside Spain, but are unsure whether to establish their own facility or accommodate a machinery factory to create another production centre for the company.
Growth plans
During 2023 and 2024, their turnover closed at around 150,000 euros in both years. However, they have a business plan for 2025-2028 in which they already expect to invoice up to one million euros in the first year and have a company structure focused on large-format 3D investment. In addition, by 2028 they seek that the company has been able to go from the current 5 employees to 20, focusing on the hiring of specialized profile personnel, such as designers, engineers and machinery technicians.
Currently, the company is made up of the executive director, three founding partners, in addition to the workers, but there has been a part of the financing that has come from public subsidies and lines of support from entities, such as the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) and strategic projects for the recovery and transformation of technology. It is strategic. Albert Chamorro points out that in these research projects it is very difficult to obtain results with this technology: "It has been a major struggle to make you forget about selling." The company's CEO highlights the investment in time and resources and appreciates the interest in the prototype and that "it really has an impact."