Color Hybrid: world’s largest plug-in hybrid vessel

Color Hybrid, built by Ulstein Verft, is a plug-in hybrid, meaning that its 5-MW batteries are charged with environmentally friendly shore power in Sandefjord, Norway in order to reduce noise and emissions while in port, and battery power also enables the vessel to travel, in part, without engine noise or emissions.

The vessel’s battery pack weighs 65 tonnes and can be recharged in one hour. The ship also has a 5-MW heat reservoir which uses heat from both the wake and the exhaust for internal heating. This, together with an optimised hull design, helps to improve the vessel’s energy efficiency.

Measuring 160 m in length and 27.1 m in the beam, Color Hybrid has capacity for 2,000 passengers and 500 cars.

“The construction of the world’s largest plug-in hybrid vessel is in line with the company’s ambitions for further development of sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for Norwegian shipping," said Color Line chief executive Trond Kleivdal.

Ulstein Group chief executive Gunvor Ulstein said “Strong focus on innovation and delivering quality to our customers has always been very important to us. With broad maritime expertise, our skilled and committed employees have made a great effort to complete Color Hybrid. We would like to express our gratitude to Color Line for [their] collaboration throughout the construction period."

Over 70% of the suppliers used in the vessel’s construction come from Norway’s maritime cluster.