‘Electric Dream’ project becomes reality as Shell unveils first of three all-electric ferries for its industrial park on the island of Pulau Bukom, and signs MoU with MPA on decarbonisation
Singapore’s first all-electric commuter ferry, Penguin Refresh, was launched for Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park on the island of Pulau Bukom.
The 200-passenger, 21-knot electric commuter ferry is the first of three such vessels that will operate between Pasir Panjang and Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park on Pulau Bukom.
Along with rapid shore charging infrastructure, the vessels are part of the so-called Electric Dream project, which brings together Shell and consortium partners Incat Crowther UK, Razor Blunt Labs, Danfoss and Gema Engineering with Singapore-based Penguin International as the turnkey designer, builder, owner and operator of the ferries and charging infrastructure.
Penguin International managing director James Tham tells Riviera Maritime Media Penguin Refresh will start operating in May, along with the shore chargers and jibs, and will be joined by two more all-electric ferries later this year. The ferries are replacing diesel-powered vessels that currently operate on the route.
“Together, our three Electric Dream ferries will eliminate more than 6,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from the skies over Singapore. That is the annual emissions from three conventional ferries,” says Mr Tham.
Each Electric Dream ferry will operate at 21 knots and take less than 10 minutes to charge up after every round trip, he says.
“About 18 months ago, Penguin and Shell embarked on a unique journey together,” said Penguin International chairman Jeffrey Hing in prepared remarks during the launch on 17 April.
“At the start of this journey, we told the world we were going to develop pure electric ferries and rapid shore chargers that would eventually replace conventional diesel-powered ferries… for good. This was always going to be a one-way trip. There was no turning back. No detours,” added Mr Hing.
Five-year MoU
At the vessel’s launch ceremony, Shell Eastern Trading Pte and the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) announced a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand their decarbonisation efforts in the Port of Singapore.
As part of the five-year MoU, MPA and Shell will work together to advance the adoption of electric harbour craft and the development of low-and zero-carbon fuels in Singapore.
The MPA is looking to replace all of its 1,600 diesel-powered harbour craft with vessels that are fully electric, operate on 100% biofuels or are compatible with net-zero carbon fuels by 2030.
"MPA is committed to working with industry partners, like Shell, to drive decarbonisation efforts in the maritime sector,” said MPA chief executive Teo Eng Dih. “Our partnership with Shell will tap into both MPA’s and Shell’s expertise in maritime decarbonisation, renewable energy and innovation. The MoU is an important step towards achieving our 2030 goal for all new harbour craft to be fully electric, be capable of using 100% biofuels or be compatible with net zero fuels, and achieving net-zero emissions in our harbour craft, pleasure craft and tugboat sectors by 2050,” he added.
Bold challenge
One of the key initial steps in decarbonising harbour craft is the Electric Dream project, which Mr Hing called “a bold challenge” describing some of the hurdles the company faced as designer, builder, owner and operator in the milestone project.
Financing was chief among these challenges, he said.
“While this project is the first of its kind for Shell worldwide and a first for Singapore, for Penguin, it was always more than just about being the first. For us, this was going to be our most substantial and most profound investment ever in a single project,” he said.
“The Electric Dream project is substantial because Penguin bore the sole responsibility of financing this project from the very beginning. However, we were not daunted by this burden at all, because we truly believed in the project. Later on, as Electric Dream became known in the financial markets, we started to receive many offers from investors and lenders. Eventually, we took up an EFS-Green loan from DBS Bank and Enterprise Singapore. The EFS-Green loan is not just a term loan. It represents the market’s endorsement of our Electric Dream,” Mr Hing said.
He also noted that beyond the financing, the technology underpinning the shift from diesel to electric power in the Electric Dream project required “a fundamental change in our attitudes and mindsets. We can no longer depend solely on all that is conventional and comfortable. For example, we now need to think in kilowatts and kilowatt hours instead of brake horsepower and metric tonnes of fuel consumption. We need to dig deeper when [specifying] equipment and defining logic controls. In the world of vessel electrification, there is no one-size-fits-all,” said Mr Hing.
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