The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has announced its partnership with REGENT, a pioneering company in the electric seaglider industry. The collaboration aims to attract investment and support the development and manufacturing of seaglider technology at the SAVI cluster in Masdar City.
During the DRIFTx event, Abu Dhabi’s smart and autonomous mobility transport event held at the Yas Marina Circuit on April 25 and 26, ADIO and REGENT signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
This collaboration is a significant step for REGENT’s global expansion plans. With an order book of over $9 billion worldwide, REGENT’s seagliders offer the promise of significantly reducing the time and cost of transportation between coastal cities. These all-electric wing-in-ground-effect craft operate on over-water routes, utilizing the water’s surface as their runway. They combine the speed of airplanes with the cost-effectiveness and accessibility of boats.
The seagliders are built to meet the safety standards of modern aircraft and watercraft. They can currently service routes up to 180 miles (300 km) using existing battery technology, with the potential to operate on routes of up to 500 miles (800 km) once next-generation batteries become available. Furthermore, the seagliders can utilize existing dock infrastructure.
REGENT plans to leverage the state-of-the-art facilities, services, and regulatory ecosystem provided by the SAVI cluster. They will collaborate with ADIO to seek local support and investment required for expanding their operations in the UAE. This further includes workforce development, supply chain integration, and the establishment of seaglider delivery infrastructure. REGENT aims to conduct a pilot operational campaign in the next few years and establish localized seaglider manufacturing by the end of the decade.
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Abu Dhabi’s pioneering smart and autonomous vehicle industry cluster
Badr Al-Olama, director general of ADIO, expressed pride in welcoming REGENT to Abu Dhabi as they contribute to shaping the future of coastal transportation. Al-Olama stated that Abu Dhabi is deploying innovation on a large scale through its pioneering Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry cluster. With great confidence, Al-Olama anticipated the global deployment of electric seagliders in Abu Dhabi, emphasizing that these seagliders would significantly transform the movement of goods and people in coastal areas worldwide. Al-Olama further highlighted Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading hub for future industry development, poised to be at the forefront of disruptive change in mobility. This change is expected to create tremendous opportunities for businesses in the coming decades. Al-Olama concluded by expressing the intention to support REGENT in the upcoming months to realize their shared goal of localized seaglider operations and manufacturing.
Expanding seaglider orders across multiple regions
For his part, Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of REGENT, expressed that Abu Dhabi’s SAVI cluster presented an exceptional opportunity for their company to support their global expansion and meet the strong demand from their customers in the region. Moreover, Thalheimer mentioned that with their increasing backlog of $9 billion in seaglider orders, which were rapidly expanding across the Gulf, the Red Sea, Indo-Pacific, and Europe, they required an effective means to manufacture and deliver seagliders throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. Thalheimer also conveyed their enthusiasm for the dedicated and swift support received from ADIO, along with their existing investor EDGE’s SDF, as both parties collaborated to establish a REGENT hub in Abu Dhabi.
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