Volvo Penta is working with Marrell Boats in Sweden to build a hybrid-powered boat for sustainable cruising in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, about halfway between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole.
The boat, an M15, will be named Kvitbjorn, or Polar Bear in English, and it will have a top speed of 32 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots. It also will have a range of 500 nm without affecting the delicate balance of marine life in the area. It’s designed to run for more than 1,000 hours in the season from May to October.
Polar Bear will be powered by twin Volvo D4-320 DPI Aquamatic hybrid engines, developed to cruise in the Arctic sub-zero temperatures. Volvo is working with Marrell to deliver a complete power system, including charging, ventilation, heating and air conditioning.
The boat will have a hydraulic clutch for smooth and quiet shifting at low engine speeds so it won’t disturb the local whales, walruses and other marine life while operating as a tourist vessel. A joystick will provide fingertip maneuvering. The hybrid system means the boat will have the range and speed provided by the diesels, with silent cruising from the electric motor.
The boat is now in a testing phase and it’s due to be delivered to Hurtigruten Svalbard, one of the archipelago’s historic tour operators, in May.
“Our aim is to be the world leader in sustainable power solutions,” said Jonas Karnefors, a sales manager for Volvo Penta, “and to do this we want to partner with companies that have the vision and courage to join us.”
Volvo is working on a power-by-the-hour payment scheme for the hybrid engines, establishing a cost per kilowatt every 60 minutes. That type of payment would help offset the relatively high initial costs of developing a hybrid engine. Read more:
https://www.volvopenta.com/about-us/news-media/press-releases/2021/nov/the-silent-future-of-
tourism-volvo-penta-to-power-hurtigruten-svalbards-new-hybrid-vessel/
