Overview
Waterborne transport still offers an enormous potential for pollution reduction and energy efficiency gains. The reduction of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions is far removed from the progress made in road transport, particularly in the category of older, small to medium-size vessels which make up a large proportion of intra-European waterborne transport, including inland navigation.
Since vessels have a long life expectancy, developing technologies for clean retrofit and fuel conversion solutions is a key aspect of the challenge.
Τhe overall objective of E-ferry is to apply an extremely energy efficient design concept and demonstrate a 100% electric, emission free, medium sized ferry for passengers and cars, trucks and cargo in full-scale operation on longer distances than previously seen (> 5 nautical miles (Nm)) for electric drive train ferries, i.e. the medium range connections Soeby-Fynshav (10.7 Nm) and Soeby-Faaborg (9.6 Nm) in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea connecting the island of Aeroe (Ærø) to the mainland.
The specific objectives of E-ferry are to:
- Build an innovative vessel combining energy efficient design, lightweight equipment, materials, and state-of-the-art electric only systems with automated high power charging system as a cost efficient alternative to fossil-fuelled ferries.
- Validate and prove the feasibility and cost effectiveness of the concept to the industry and ferry operators by demonstrating an energy efficient and emission free ferry for passengers and vehicles in an operational viable setup on the Soeby-Fynshav and Soeby-Faaborg connections in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea.
- Obtain correct life cycle assessments taking this innovative concept into consideration to ensure that the right design choices are made for ferries lasting 30 years into the future. Life cycle assessments also will take into account the CO2, NOx and SO2 emissions and energy consumption involved in manufacturing and transporting the parts for manufacturing the E-ferry.
- Obtain approval of the use of carbon fibre reinforced (CFR) composite modules in the E-ferry’s superstructure according to SOLAS Chapter II-2 (Part F) regulation 17 and EU Directive 2002/25/EC through material and fire testing using guidelines from the KOMPAS-project. All findings from the approval process of CFR composite modules for the E-ferry design will be made available for the European maritime industry through the project’s dissemination and exploitation activities.
- Reduce CO2 emissions by approx. 2,000 tonnes, NOx by 41,500 kg, SO2 by 1,350 kg and particulates by 2,500 kg per year from 2017 when the demonstration ferry is put into operation.
- Quantify the potential market up-take and CO2-reductions on European scale and qualify the potential application of the concept on a larger scale among relevant industry and ferry operators.
- Develop a business case/model and prepare the concept for market upt