Battery power in sight for Channel ferries?

THE prospect of plug-in electric ferries has been raised to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions. European engineering company ABB suggests technology will become available for ferries doing trips of up to two hours – such as those on some of the English Channel routes – to run purely on an electric charge.

‘Ferry operators on routes between Sweden, Denmark, and Germany are certainly looking to replace the combustion engine in the next generation of ships,’ says Eero Lehtovaara, ABB’s hybrid expert. ‘For Dover-Calais ferries, absolutely we believe electric can do those trips.”

Oslo has ferries doing 20-minute trips on electric batteries.

Ferry operators have questions about the range and recharging time of batteries, but ABB has confidence in the technology.

‘It is a big leap for the operators, but we believe we are on the threshold of migrating to hybrid, and the battery industry is anticipating that threshold, too,’ Lehtovaara said.

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