Regent Craft partners with City of Nice

Regent Craft has partnered with the City of Nice to bring electric sea gliders to the French Riviera. 

As part of the MoU, Regent and Nice will explore policy reforms and infrastructure zoning for sustainable maritime mobility. The firms will reach out to community organisations to identify transportation gaps, especially in underserved areas. 

Billy Thalheimer, CEO and co-founder of Regent said: “We’re looking forward to collaborating with Mayor Estrosi and the opportunity to share our technology and network development expertise with Nice, in the south of France and along the European coast. The future of coastal transportation is well on its way for Nice.”

Regent secured design approval from Paris-based Bureau Veritas in August. With $7bn in preorders, the Rhode Island-based firm is currently developing a full-scale, 12-person seaglider planned for commercial entry in 2025.

“In so many ways, this is the perfect city to develop a global mark for one of the world’s first electric seaglider networks, reducing the environmental impact of flights, cars and maritime vehicles that use fossil fuels and making passenger and cargo transportation more accessible and affordable to support the local economy. It’s an ideal solution for this timeless UNESCO World Heritage city,” said Thalheimer.

Regent is also building similar seaglider transportation networks in locations such as Hawaii.