Future of the Fjords: Electric ferry with a 1.8 megawatt hour battery

G Built at the Brødrene Aa shipyard, The Fjords' second ship in the Seasight Design series operates completely emission-free between Flåm and Gudvangen. The catamaran sailing under the Norwegian flag received the Universal Design Transport Award as well as the Innovation Prize of the Norwegian Center for Design and Architecture (DOGA) in 2017.

Up to 400 people can be found on the 42.49 meters long and 15.2 meters wide, its hull is made entirely of carbon fiber composite materials. It is powered by two 450 kW electric motors, which accelerate the 770 ton colossus to a speed of 16 knots (29.6 km /h). There is space on board for 3,000 liters of fresh, 2,000 liters of gray and 3,000 liters of black water as well as an anchor weighing 237 kilograms. After 30 nautical miles (55.6 km), the 17 million euro ship has to be recharged.

Up to 2 MWh battery capacity

As befits a ferry, it falls the socket is a little bigger: the specially developed floating powerdock (charging capacity 2.4 megawatts) only takes 20 minutes to charge the Future of the Fjords to 100 percent. 1.2 MW come directly from the battery itself, 1.2 MW are fed in from the grid via the power dock. The battery capacity of the power dock is 700 kilowatt hours. Optionally, two megawatt hours should also be possible, which would be enough to charge around 285,000 smartphones or around 20 Tesla Model S 100Ds. In addition to electricity, the Powerdock can provide or hold 45,000 cubic meters of diesel and 25,000 liters of wastewater.

The fact that the ferry needs a battery pack with a total capacity of 1.8 megawatt hours, while the port of Gudvangen only needs one capacity of 1.2 MWh, the implementation of the floating charging station accelerated. What is special about the 40 meter long, five meter wide and 0.9 meter high Powerdock is not only its mobility, but also the ability to charge cars, buses or other means of transport on land. 'We believe that this development can spill over the entire globe', said André Sandvik, CEO of the shipping company The Fjords DA at the award ceremony of the Norwegian magazine Skipsrevyen.