UPDATED: RI Commerce Approves Millions More in Incentives for REGENT Craft
GoLocalProv Business Team
UPDATED: RI Commerce Approves Millions More in Incentives for REGENT Craft
The company moved from Massachusetts to North Kingstown’s Quonset Business Park in 2022. In the summer of 2022, Commerce approved the Qualified Jobs Incentive Tax Credit incentives — meaning the company would be eligible for tax credits for up to 300 employees over the next five years.
Despite repeated requests, Commerce Corporation could not produce a copy of the 2022 resolution approved by the board.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe link to at least one Commerce Corporation board meeting document is broken, and the documents are unavailable.
The company first said it would create 600 jobs in Rhode Island.
Now, the hiring schedule has changed.
At the time of the initial award of the incentive, there were big promises. According to Commerce, in 2022, the Boston-based company would hire about “600 top-tier workers starting in January 1, 2025. The median salary will be $150,000.”
However, few of the workers have been hired, and the company is still in prototype development.
On August 1 of this year, Regent issued a press release stating the company, “the seaglider company has created over 135 jobs and reinvested $22 million into the state.”
On Monday night, the company’s spokesperson told GoLocal that it employs 77 in Rhode Island.
When asked about the discrepancy, Kirsten Salyer, director of communications for REGENT. said that they were also counting contractors. “Today REGENT employs 77 full-time employees based in Rhode Island. REGENT also has more full-time staff who don't reside in Rhode Island. The 135 number shared in August included contractors. In August, REGENT had 74 full-time employees based in Rhode Island,” said Slayer. Rhode Island.
Billions in Pre-Orders
CEO Billy Thalheimer said in 2023, “Our studies, based on publicly validated data, show that our seagliders serve an $11 billion market that we project to swell to as much as $25 billion as battery technology advances. The $8 billion in orders our company has already received from a variety of companies around the world reflect the need for fast, reliable, and sustainable maritime transportation.”
The company said in 2023 that it had received orders for more than 400 seagliders -- that total $8 billion. Those orders come from airline and ferry operators around the world.
And, REGENT had raised more than $50 million to date from investors thru April of 2023, including Thiel Capital, Y Combinator, Founders Fund, and Mark Cuban.
Now, the company has raised more than $90 million, according to Salyer.
“Our first vehicle will carry 12 passengers and our next will carry at least 50 passengers. With existing battery technology, both variants will have a 180 mile range and 180 mph top speed. The vehicles will be as safe as aircraft and have better wave and wind tolerance than existing seaplanes and WIGs [wing-in-ground-effect]," claimed the company in 2022.
REGENT will begin sea trials of the full-scale seaglider prototype with humans on board later this year, according to Salyer.
Award of Millions More in Incentives
The new incentives announced on Monday include $1 million under the First Wave Closing Fund Act to support REGENT’s operational expansion in Rhode Island and $3 million under the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Act.
In addition, REGENT’s previous award under the Qualified Jobs Incentive Act, approved in June of 2022, was amended to reflect a new hiring schedule. REGENT’s job commitment is 300 over ten years, with a potential of up to 750, a claim of a dramatic decrease.
“The expansion of REGENT Craft will strengthen Rhode Island’s position as a leader in innovative and green transportation solutions,” said Governor Dan McKee. “This project will create a significant number of high-quality, good-paying jobs that aligns with our goal of raising incomes for all Rhode Islanders.”
“Rhode Island is a hub for innovative, cutting-edge marine tech companies, and REGENT Craft’s expansion here helps bolster that,” said Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner. “This partnership is the perfect example of how Rhode Island is fostering economic growth through innovation, and we look forward to the long-term benefits this expansion will bring to our communities.”
REGENT Craft, Inc. was founded in 2020 and specializes in the design and manufacturing of all-electric, hydrofoiling wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) seaglider vessels. The seagliders provide a unique mode of transportation, offering the speed of an airplane with the operational cost of a boat, thus revolutionizing regional transportation with zero emissions.
“REGENT is growing quickly, creating new well-paying jobs every month and looking forward to expanding into our new manufacturing facility,” said Billy Thalheimer, Co-founder and CEO, REGENT, on Monday. “Not only will this make Rhode Island the manufacturing capital of seagliders in the U.S.; it will also continue the state’s leadership in composites manufacturing and the Blue Economy.”
Governor Dan McKee, the chair of Commerce, is on vacation.
This story was updated at 5:30 PM on 10/1/2024.