Battery System Selected for Largest Electric Ferry
Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché was selected as a battery system supplier to the world’s largest battery operated ferryboat to be built by Danish shipbuilder Søby Shipyard Ltd. The ferry will enter service in June 2017 to transportation of vehicles and passengers between island Ærø and the mainland in Denmark.
Leclanché is a joint partner in the project and will deliver a full-electric drive train to the ferry with its partner Visedo. The ferry will be equipped with a 4.2 MWh battery system from Leclanché being the world’s largest ferry in terms of battery capacity. As one of the top five projects in the EU Horizon 2020 initiative, a program with a total budget of 21 million euros, this initiative is part of the Danish Natura project, which guarantees local people green transportation in these areas.
The ferry will be state-of-the-art design and achieve superior efficiency thanks to optimized weight and hull shape and electric propulsion equipment. CO2 emissions will be reduced by 2,000 tons and NOx by 41.5 tons per year compared with an existing diesel ferry. The silent electric motors will also reduce emitted noise level and the new vessel will reduce wake waves right behind the ferry by 60-70 percent which allows navigation in the shallow Danish Natura areas. Charging power of up to 4 MW allows short port stays and efficient operation.
Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, commented, “We are very excited to be involved in this groundbreaking project as a battery supplier. I am delighted to see Ærø Island utilizing the frontline technology and EU supporting such a pioneering activity. This new contract, following the confirmation of the large order for the Project Graciosa, gives also further validation of Leclanché’s strong execution of its business plan and growth strategy.”
Martti Ukkonen, EVP of Mobile Storage Systems at Leclanché, said, “This project is a break-through in the recently introduced mobile storage business. The novel combination of a lithium-ion battery storage system and an electric drive train provided by Leclanché and Visedo has proven to be a true asset in the mobile system market, and not only in marine segment. We are extremely satisfied with our strategic alliance with Visedo.”
Previously, on May 4, 2015, Leclanché announced a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Visedo Oy. The Finnish ground-breaking innovative electric drive train specialist was approved as leading partner in the project, preferred to an industry giant Siemens. The market for marine electric vessels is expected to grow from $2.6 billion to $6.3 billion by 2023 due to both emission regulations and tremendous potential of fuel savings.
