Uber's fully electric ferry starts services on London's River Thames

When it is up to its full schedule and has replaced the existing ferry and eliminated pollution on the route, the ferry will undertake crossings of the Thames every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes at weekends. Estimates are that the vessel will ferry more than 20,000 people per day, on average.

The ground-breaking vessel is part of a well-funded transition towards battery-powered transport along the navigable parts of the 346-km-long river, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the advent of services ’fantastic’.

“This is a fantastic new transport option for Londoners – not only cleaner and greener than its predecessor, but providing quicker and more accessible journeys across the river for far more people. Innovation and investment in travel infrastructure like this will help us navigate the challenges facing our environment and our economy as we continue building a fairer, greener, better London for everyone,” Mr Khan said. 

According to Uber, the vessel is part of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers’ "broader sustainable innovation initiative". The company’s fleet includes three hybrid high-speed ferries: Earth Clipper, Celestial Clipper and Mars Clipper. Operating on battery power in Central London, the hybrid vessels recharge under fossil fuel power when operating outside of the congested city centre. The new vessel and its compatriots were built on the Isle of Wight off the UK’s southern coast.

The double-ended, all-aluminium catamaran Orbit Clipper will be served by Sweden-based Aqua superPower’s semi-automated docking on both sides of the crossing, which runs from London’s Canary Wharf on the north side of the river and Rotherhithe on the south.

25-m-long, 10-m-wide Orbit Clipper will run seven days a week courtesy of a 960-MWh Octopus High Energy battery pack provided by Netherlands-based EST Floattech, which is also in the forefront of the rapid spread of all-electric river transport.

With over 200 projects and counting under its belt, EST Floattech recently installed electric power on two earlier high-speed, hybrid Wight Shipyard-built vessels for Thames Clippers, the Netherland’s all-electric river boat Gorinchem XII and the 32-m-long hybrid ferry Laboe sailing in Kiel since 2024. Floattech’s Octopus High Energy has also provided the power for Thames’ first all-electric tour vessel. An ultra-light aluminium boat ordered by Woods’ Silver Fleet, which has been operating on the river in various guises for more than 100 years, the 39-m vessel’s battery bank will be fast-charged between each trip by a 2-MW shore-based facility.

Uber Boat Thames Clippers chief executive Sean Collins said he believes launching the UK’s first fully electric vessel is a watershed moment for green transport in London.

“The launch of Orbit Clipper is a significant milestone for sustainable transport in London. As the UK’s first all-electric, zero-emissions vessel, it represents our commitment to reducing the city’s carbon footprint while continuing to provide reliable and efficient river transport," he said.

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