The french ship yard STX France has introduced a novelty in the nautical industry. They built a fully electrical, zero emission ferry. Instead of using traditional batteries to power the electrical engines, they opted for super capacitors. The advantage of the super capacitor is that that they are cheaper to use and can be charged very fast. They can use this option because the ferry will operate on a fixed and short route.

Fast charging

Every time the ferry docks from its short trip the capacitors will be charged with wall power. Unlike traditional batteries, which need many hours to charge, the super capacitors can be charged fast enough not to cause a delay.

As a result, no interruption in the service is required while passengers can enjoy the quietness of the electrical engines. Combined with the low vibrations, this will add to the comfort of the short ferry trip.

Zero emission ferry

In addition, solar panels are installed on the roof of the ferry to further add efficiency to this zero emission ferry. I have not been to find any specifics about the solar panels used, so I have no idea if they can make a big impact or they are merely used as a nice extra. For example the AquaBus I have written about earlier. Since that article I have learned that it takes about 20 hours charging using only the sun to be able to sail for about 8 hours. This shows that long way renewable energy still has to go before we can say goodbye to wall charging or using traditional combustion engines.

Read moet about this zero emmission ferry here.