BRP has been on an EV roll lately.
A few years back, it dropped an EV snowmobile. Then, last year, it announced that Can-Am would be bringing back its motorcycle division in EV form. And there've been rumors of an EV side-by-side ever since the company acquired Great Wall Motor Company Austria. Plus, it has to compete with Polaris' EV Ranger.
But now, there's even more fuel on the proverbial EV fire as RideApart just found a recent patent indicating that BRP's Sea-Doo will acquire the next EV in the company's arsenal.
The patent itself is for a "charging system and method of charging an electric watercraft," not for the watercraft itself. But why would you need a charging system or method of charging if you didn't have an electric PWC? Plus, the patent goes on to state, "The present technology relates to systems for electrically charging an electric watercraft."
I mean, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck...it's probably an electric PWC that's yet to debut.
Accordingly, "The electrification of vehicles is becoming more commonplace in today’s market in an effort to offer consumers vehicular options that minimize emissions. For instance, battery-powered watercraft (i.e., electric watercraft) such as personal watercraft (PWC) are now available to consumers that desire an emissions-free watercraft."
Emphasis mine, but that sure sounds like there's an electric Sea-Doo on the horizon. That's further evidenced by the following.
It goes on to state, "However, electric watercraft also face different challenges. For instance, electric watercraft require an electric charging system to charge a battery thereof and may also require dedicated charging equipment available on shore to recharge the battery of the electric watercraft. These solutions may not be ideal as they can be expensive to implement and usually require a particular design to protect electrical connectors associated with the electrical charging system to avoid exposure to the environment in which the electric watercraft operates."
What all that means is that BRP has been looking at the methods of charging an EV watercraft and the company doesn't really like what it sees. A solution for an EV motorcycle, snowmobile, UTV, or car might not be the same solution for an EV PWC.
And that brings us to the actual design of this patent: a wireless EV charger.
The charger is not unlike other PWC docks and operates similarly, as you ride the Sea-Doo onto the dock and park it. But the real trick is that the dock itself is more like your phone's wireless charging dock, too.
Per the patent's abstract, "A wireless power receiving device is supported by a hull of the watercraft and is in electrical communication with the battery. The system also includes a watercraft charging base configured to be engaged by the watercraft in a charging position thereof. The watercraft charging base has a base body configured to engage at least part of the hull and a wireless power transmitting device supported by the base body. The wireless power transmitting device is positioned such that, in the charging position of the watercraft, the wireless power transmitting device wirelessly transmits power to the wireless power receiving device."
Now, if BRP can pull this off—and since there's a patent, it thinks it can—this would be one of the largest wireless chargers around. It'd represent a quantum leap in the EV powersports world, though I'm not sure if it'd work on anything but a Sea-Doo.
See, the Sea-Doo is different compared to a snowmobile, UTV or motorcycle, as there are contact patches that "connect" the base to the charging dock. There's no air gap to minimize the power flow from the charging base to the machine. It's why even wireless chargers for your phone still require you to place it on the charging pad.
All that's to say, yeah, Sea-Doo is probably coming out with an EV jet-ski and the company may be changing the game in terms of charging them. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
