A 198-foot all-electric ferry just said a new world record of cruising 50 nm on a single battery charge, according to its builder.
The ferry, named Ellen, cruised from Sónderborg, Denmark, where it was on display at the International Energy Agency’s annual conference, back home to its base in the islands in the south of Denmark. Danfoss Editron, which supplied the ferry’s drivetrain and motors, said it would submit the cruise to Guinness World Records for the longest sea voyage on a single charge.
Ellen was built by the Danish yard of Soby Vaerft, with a 4.3MWh battery system. The drivetrain includes two 750kW propulsion motors and two 250kW thruster motors from Danfoss Editron.
It was launched on June 1, 2019, and so far has made about 1,000 trips between the islands of Aero and Als in the south of Denmark, a distance of 22 nm. It cruises at 12 knots and can carry 200 passengers and 30 cars; it has a three-person crew.
Ellen was developed under a European Union E-Ferry project. It cost 21.3 million Euros, or about $22,493,000 dollars, about 40 percent more than a conventional diesel ferry. But its operating costs are 24 percent lower. After its first year of operation, a report said a fully electric ferry would break even when compared to a diesel-electric alternative in about four years.
“Ellen is an excellent example of the future for electric transport,” said Kimmo Rauma, vice president of Danfoss Editron. “It’s cleaner, greener, and more efficient than her fossil fuel competitors. Electrifying maritime transport is a clear-cut way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And Danfoss has the solutions to build new electric ferries and to retrofit existing ones to electrify them with the potential to reduce carbon emissions all over the world.” Read more:
