Batteries lead net-zero charge for ferry sector

Elsewhere, Stena RoRo’s E-Flexer newbuilding programme has just delivered its first battery-powered ropax. The Ala’suinu is under a five-year lease to Marine Atlantic, a Canadian operator based in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The ship, the tenth E-Flexer design from Stena RoRo, deploys a 2 MWh battery and dual-fuel LNG and diesel propulsion.

Highlighting the expansion of battery power in the ferry segment, two new Brittany Ferries E-Flexers are currently being built, which will have significantly larger batteries, at 11.5 MWh each vessel.

The development of electric propulsion within the ferry sector is also becoming more technologically sophisticated. For example, at Posidonia trade fair, DNV and a UK-based vessel designer signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the development, certification and operation of electric foiling vessels. Hydrofoils use a foil to lift the vessel up from the water as it gathers speed, boosting energy efficiency.

DNV and Artemis Technologies will work on 100% electric foiling vessels. The MoU builds on their co-operation on the Artemis EF-24 passenger ferry, with several under construction and rapidly progressing.

Regent is also progressing with its hydrofoiling wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) ferries. Its groundbreaking work here is expected to open the market for this kind of seaglider craft.

Regent’s 12-passenger zero-emissions Seagliders will operate a few meters above the water’s surface, combining the higher speeds of a light aircraft with the low operating costs of a maritime vessel.

Taking a risk-based approach in the absence of existing rules and regulations, Lloyd’s Register (LR) will support Regent through the maritime certification process, including advancing its design basis agreement with the US Coast Guard and defining the certification pathway for non-US seagliders. This will help define LR rules for future WIG vessels, including Regent’s 100-passenger Monarch seaglider. Regent aims to have humans on board its 12-passenger seaglider prototype this year, with vehicles to market by mid-decade.

Helping the development of electric propulsion within the ferry sector is the development of green corridors. Decatrip, which began in 2022, is a joint project undertaken by shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), Viking Line, Åbo Akademi University and Kempower, a developer of electric charging technology.

The project envisions a carbon-neutral green corridor between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden through which cargo and passengers can travel. RMC’s role was to investigate the technology needed to modernise Viking Line’s vessels and retrofit them with batteries. Viking Line developed a commercial model based on carbon-neutral maritime transport. Kempower developed retrofittable charging devices for electric vehicles on ships, while Åbo Akademi developed a simulation model to optimise battery and electric vehicle charging devices. The project partners will assess the viability to scale this and develop similar corridors elsewhere.

And the UK’s first green shipping corridor is moving forward, with electric power expected to play a key role. The green corridor will be established between the Ports of Dover, Calais and Dunkirk as part of the UK’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. 

While Europe is the part of the world where battery propelled ferries are most dominant, electric power is also ramping up quickly on other continents. More electric ferries are expected to be built for the US market after the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that it would be pumping US$316M into modernising ferry services. Part of this is the Electric or Low Emitting Ferry Program which will allot US$49M in federal funding in 2024 to transit agencies to purchase ferries that reduce emissions by using alternative fuels or onboard energy storage systems. 

But, despite the adaption of battery power by the ferry segment, there is still a major challenge to be overcome to allow this propulsion option to reach its full potential. There is still not enough onshore power supply (OPS) to charge the batteries. Mr Corrigan says: “Around the world, OPS deployment has often been up to 10 years behind shipboard battery installations. Most existing capacity is limited to ‘cold ironing’ consumption at berth, so recharging levels are insufficient for propulsion systems. This leaves operators uncertain about ordering new full-electric or hybrid ships, as I know full well from various Interferry members.”

A key Interferry mission is to lobby governments, port authorities and electricity utilities to prioritise OPS development.   

While electric power is undoubtedly leading the way in the decarbonisation of the ferry sector, there are advances being made within other alternative propulsion routes. LNG is a tried and tested alternative fuel within the sector. According to DNV’s latest Alternative Fuels Insight, there are currently 43 ropax vessels that deploy LNG and LNG hybrid propulsion, with six newbuildings on the orderbook.

Hydrogen and methanol take shape

Hydrogen and methanol have also started entering the ferry market. Norled’s MF Hydra, entered service last year. Hydra uses both batteries and liquid hydrogen fuel cells and is the world’s first ship to sail on liquid hydrogen.

Elsewhere, the first US hydrogen fuel-cell ferry Sea Change has been approved for commercial operations. The 70-foot, 75-passenger zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered, electric-drive ferry, owned by SWITCH Maritime, will operate in the California Bay Area and has been built by All American Marine (AAM).

This ferry is expected to be instrumental in driving forward hydrogen usage.

Incat Crowther designed the vessel. Incat Crowther managing director - North America, Grant Pecoraro, says: “Sea Change aims to demonstrate the viability of this fuel and demonstrate a pathway to commercialisation. In that context, the advantages and benefits of Sea Change go way beyond the single vessel and its own footprint.”

The project is funded by private capital from impact investment platform SWITCH, which seeks to work with ferry operators to help facilitate their adoption of zero-carbon vessels to replace aging diesel-powered vessels, leveraging significant experience from the technologies used in the build of this first ferry.

Current hydrogen newbuild ferry orders include two passenger ferries ordered by Norwegian transport company Torghatten. At 117 m long with a 120-car capacity, the duo will be the world’s largest hydrogen-powered ships, operating on green hydrogen at least 85% of the time. A hydrogen storage unit onboard the vessel will feed gas to the fuel cells, creating electricity to propel the vessels and power their auxiliary systems, reducing CO2-emissions on the route by around 26,500 tons each year.

While slower moving than hydrogen, methanol is also starting to make inroads in the sector. Stena Line is converting Stena Superfast VII and Stena Superfast VIII to methanol propulsion. This comes on the back of the conversion of Stena Germanica in 2015.

Stena RoRo is also investigating methanol as part of its E-Flexer programme. The company says that “on the drawing table” are some methanol-ready E-Flexer projects.

There is no doubt that the ferry sector is active in its drive to decarbonise. There is a mix of alternative propulsion options on the table, with batteries the top choice.