An integrated service delivery platform.
Water Roads is a Transport as a Service company that deploys zero-emission electric hydrofoil water transit for cities and governments.
The company manages the full operational stack under a single contract: vessel acquisition, route planning and scheduling, charging infrastructure, crew, maintenance, ticketing, and carbon reporting. Cities and transport authorities receive a transport outcome without capital expenditure or procurement delay.
Water Roads is complementary to existing public ferry services — operating on corridors with no current ferry service and activating underutilised waterway infrastructure.
Electric hydrofoil vessels.
Water Roads vessels use hydrofoil technology to lift above the water surface at speed, eliminating hull drag and reducing energy consumption by up to 86% compared to conventional ferries (5 kWh vs 36 kWh per passenger-kilometre). Over a 30-year operational lifetime, the carbon footprint is 97.5% lower than equivalent diesel vessels (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm).
Water Roads holds exclusive regional supply agreements with Candela (Sweden) and Artemis Technologies (UK) for next-generation electric hydrofoil vessels. The Candela P-12 (30 passengers, 25 knots) has been operational in Stockholm since 2022, carrying 50,000+ passengers at 98.2% service reliability. The Artemis EF-14 Transit was launched at the America's Cup in Barcelona in 2024.
Water Roads does not design or manufacture vessels. The company's expertise is in vessel acquisition, whole-of-life cost management, and operations.
18 minutes. Rhodes to Barangaroo.
Every 6 minutes.
Sydney's road congestion costs the economy an estimated $6.9 billion annually, projected to reach $12.6 billion by 2030. Over 100,000 residents in waterfront communities currently face 45–90 minute road journeys that could be served in 18 minutes by water. Sydney Harbour's 300+ kilometres of navigable waterways run parallel to the city's most congested road corridors.
The existing ferry fleet — approximately 40 diesel-powered vessels — contributes to urban air pollution through emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The harbour's current waterway mode share is 7% of total transport.
The Water Roads pilot route is planned to operate 8 vessels on a single Sydney Harbour corridor. Authority approvals are in progress. Routes have been designed to comply with existing fairway and speed restrictions, with no exemptions required. The pilot uses existing TfNSW wharf infrastructure — no new public capital is required.
The proposed pilot route connects the Wentworth Point and Rhodes precinct with Barangaroo (Nawi Cove). The current road journey between these precincts takes 45 minutes; the water route is 18 minutes. AMSA certification processes are underway for both vessel types. The Candela P-12 is targeting NSCV Class 1E/D approval for the Sydney Harbour pilot, with Class 1C (restricted offshore) being pursued for Middle Harbour and Northern Beaches routes.
Australian-designed.
Grid-independent charging.
Deep Power™ is an Australian-designed floating, modular battery platform that converts existing wharves into electric-enabled e-Wharves without requiring grid upgrades. It operates independently of the city electricity grid, reducing strain during peak hours and providing continuity during blackouts.
Designed and manufactured in NSW — initially at Canada Bay, scaling to the Hunter Region in partnership with the AMWU.
95% recyclability with a 25+ year lifespan and 100% prefabricated off-site manufacturing.
Modular upgrades without replacing the hull. Units can be redeployed across routes without permanent civil works.
Deep Power units can be towed to disaster zones for emergency power supply, providing critical energy resilience for waterfront communities.
Water Roads was built in direct response to Blue Highways.
In June 2018, the NRMA — Australia's largest motoring organisation with 2.6 million members — published Blue Highways: Transforming Sydney's Waterways. The paper called for private fast ferry operations on the Parramatta River corridor, on-demand services, and new wharf infrastructure at Rhodes, Wentworth Point, and Camellia.
The NRMA concluded that "private involvement is expected to increase" as government transport funding competes with healthcare and education, and recommended the development of a high-frequency, commercially operated water transit service on underutilised harbour corridors.
The NRMA's 2.6 million members include a significant proportion of Sydney commuters who live and work in the Parramatta River corridor catchment — the same communities that face the 45–90 minute road journeys the Water Roads pilot is designed to address.
An Australian urban transit
technology company.
Water Roads was established with a mandate to develop the technology, infrastructure, and operational model required to make zero-emission electric hydrofoil water transit viable at city scale.
Water Roads does not design or manufacture vessels. The company holds exclusive regional supply agreements with Candela (Sweden) and Artemis Technologies (UK), and an initial agreement with Regent Craft for longer coastal routes. Its expertise is in vessel acquisition, whole-of-life cost management, and operations.
Stakeholders briefed to date include Transport for NSW, BAFI / Investment NSW, City of Canada Bay Council, City of Parramatta Council, AMSA, Macquarie Group, Sydney Harbour Trust, Infrastructure NSW, and the Maritime Union of Australia.