Rhode Island company working towards introducing all-electric sea gliders for travel

(WJAR) — You could soon spot sea gliders in the Ocean State.

NBC 10 got an inside look at a REGENT Craft in North Kingstown, including a simulation of the Seaglider.

The Rhode Island-based company located in the Quonset Business Park has big plans for the future of travel.

“It’s a new mode of transportation, a hybrid between boats and planes. So sort of the best of both worlds.Sea gliders float, foil, and fly,” Billy Thalheimer, CEO and co-founder of REGENT Craft said.

Thalheimer said the electric journey uses sailing technology to help eventually get the sea glider in the air.

“We will proceed on route at approximately 180 mph,” he said about the speed on the air.

REGENT has tested the technology on a smaller scale seaglider, without people on board, but is now working on a full-scale 15,000-pound prototype, which fits 12 people or could also carry cargo.

“Sea gliders are maritime vehicles so they’re under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard as a maritime vessel,” he said. “For the prototype we are working with the Coast Guard now and actually have already received our approval to go out and do human sea trials and human flight testing in Narragansett Bay. For the product vehicle we’ll go through a certification pathway just like any large passenger ferry.”

Commercial seagliders will be crewed by professional mariners after undergoing extensive training on seaglider systems.

The company said they already have hundreds of clients across the globe from hotels to airlines.

Their footprint in the Ocean State is expanding.

REGENT is getting $4 million in incentives from the state, with the promise of creating 300 jobs over 10 years, and leasing a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Quonset where the crafts will eventually be built.

The jobs will be a mix of engineering and manufacturing positions.

“We actually searched the whole country for the best home for Regent and decided on Rhode Island.”

Testing could happen in Narragansett Bay as soon as next year.