XALT Energy is contributing the batteries for New Zealand’s first all-electric ferry. The 19-metre vessel with a capacity of 135 passengers will be part of the fleet of ferry operator East by West Wellington Harbour Ferry Service and will cover daily water routes in the bay off Wellington.

ABB has won an order from Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán to supply all-electric power solutions for ten all-electric local ferries. The vessels are scheduled to enter service on the River Tagus between 2022 and 2024.

Within the framework of the European innovation project Flagships, the world’s first commercial cargo ship with hydrogen propulsion is to go into operation on the Seine in Paris this year. This has significantly shifted the focus of the project initiated in 2018.

Toyota Motor Europe is a new shareholder in the start-up Energy Observer Developments (EODev). The French company was founded in 2019 with the aim of driving research and development of the H2 catamaran Energy Observer, for which Toyota is supplying the fuel cell technology.

The electric boat drive specialist Torqeedo has expanded its range to include a lighter and more cost-effective electric outboard motor called Travel 603. The drive is said to be suitable, among other things, as an auxiliary drive for smaller sailboats or fishing boats.

Torqeedo and Poseidon announce a commercial-grade electric drive system for ferries with typically up to 200 passengers. Both specialist companies will combine existing components to form the novel zero-emission propulsion powered by BMW batteries.

The ‘Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory’ or SEEL for short, designed to make the country a hotbed for e-mobility, will grow larger than planned. The partners, which include Volvo and Scania as well as Chalmers University of Technology and RISE, now designated three sites.

The Fraunhofer Institute is working with 13 European partners to develop the world’s first ammonia-based fuel cell for ships in the ShipFC project. Ammonia is mainly known for its use as a fertiliser, but is also suitable as a high-quality energy source, the institute says.

The world’s largest all-electric ferry yet has gone into service in Norway on a route across the Oslo Fjord. Bastø Electric is the first of three battery-powered ferries operated by the shipping company Bastø Fosen to enter Norwegian waters with more in the making in Turkey.

Torqeedo has opened a direct sales office in Norway to serve the growing market for electric marine propulsion systems there. This is Torqeedo’s eighth direct sales office worldwide.

The Norwegian company Teco 2030 is planning Norway’s first “gigafactory” for fuel cells for use in ships. Fuel cells with an output of 1.2 gigawatts per year are to be produced there.

In spring 2021, the first all-electric charter fleet will start operating on the Norwegian Telemark Canal. The fleet will be comprised of six charter boats equipped with Torqeedo e-drives from the Slovenian shipyard Greenline Yachts.

Ballard Power Systems signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Global Energy Ventures for the development of a new fuel cell-powered ship, called C-H2 Ship, designed to transport compressed green hydrogen. A small-scale, under 10 MW demonstration of the C-H2 Ship to be built initially.

Covestro and the Dutch logistics service provider Netherlands Partikuliere Rheinfahrt-Centrale Coöperatie (NPRC) want to convert the salt transport fleet on the Rhine to hydrogen-powered ships in a joint project.

ZF is now adding further electrified components for shipping to its portfolio of maritime hybrid transmissions, specifically electric motors, power electronics and control levers. According to the driveline specialist, this provides a complete solution from a single source.

The Canadian-Norwegian battery specialist Corvus Energy has announced that it will start developing and producing maritime fuel cell systems on a large scale in cooperation with Toyota.

ABB has won an order from South Korean shipyard Haemin Heavy Industries. The Swiss company will supply a complete power supply and propulsion solution for the Busan Port Authority’s first all-electric passenger ferry.

ABB has scored the debut deal with Dutch luxury yacht builder Oceanco. They will use Azipod technology to supply propulsion to a superyacht. Both partners consider this the beginning of future projects in a market ABB estimates to exceed $10 billion by 2025.

A group of 13 partners from the entire value chain of ship electrification have launched ‘Current Direct’, a research project that aims, among other things, to reduce the cost of battery-electric propulsion systems in shipping and build an ‘Energy as a Service’ platform.

Yachts de Luxe (YdL) from Singapore wants to build the world’s first luxury boat with lithium-sulfur battery technology and against this background has signed a contract with the Li-S specialist Oxis Energy. Williams Advanced Engineering is also on board as project partner.

With everybody stuck at home, it pays to look to the wide-open waters. Or to the smaller blues of Lake Starnberg that is home base to Torqeedo. 15 years in the game, the small enterprise has become the market leader in e-mobility on water, and we wanted to discover what’s next.

ABB has secured a contract worth around 150 million US dollars to supply the complete power and drive package for cruise ships built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. The electric drives will still be powered by diesel engines, but are said to reduce fuel consumption by 20%.

The German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia has presented a hydrogen roadmap. Detailed targets for 2025 and 2030 are ambitious while it remains unclear, where the hydrogen will come from.

ABB Marine & Ports has selected XALT Energy to supply battery systems to power two hybrid ferries for the British ferry company P&O, which are expected to operate regularly on the English Channel between Dover in the UK and Calais in France from 2023.

The Norwegian company Freyr is planning a 32 GWh battery cell factory in Norway and has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Siemens Energy and Elkem each on the supply of cells and anode active materials.

Plymouth Boat Trips and Voyager Marine have launched the UK’s first sea-going electric ferry, named e-Voyager. The electric ferry was developed in partnership with the University of Plymouth, the University of Exeter, Teignbridge Propellers, MarRI-UK and EV Parts. Testing is now underway.

Toyota’s modular H2 propulsion solution REXH2 will be used for another maritime application: The system will be installed in the Hynova 40, a twelve-meter yacht for up to twelve passengers. The system has already been tested on board the Energy Observer catamaran.

Danfoss Editron is supplying Energy Absolute with the electric propulsion systems for Thailand’s first fleet of all-electric passenger ferries that will operate on the Chao Phraya River. Each of the 24 meter long ferries can carry 200 passengers.

Alejandro Agag wants to establish a third racing series following the two electric car series Formula E and Extreme E, but this time with electrically powered racing boats. The series will be called E1 and does not yet have a starting date.

Danfoss Editron has received an order from the Norwegian shipyard Grovfjord Mekaniske Verksted (GMV) to supply hybrid propulsion systems for a fleet of unmanned exploration vessels. Four of the vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2021, with seven more to follow in the following months.