The Tesla Supercharger may have some Swedish competition. A 75-foot ferry converted to electric power can recharge its 180 kWh battery in just ten minutes. It may not set any speed records with forward motion limited to an average of just 9 knots, but the quiet nature of electric motors makes up for the lack of speed in a city like Stockholm, which is spread out across 14 islands.
As you can imagine, this makes ferry travel important to the local economy, and efforts to build greener boats is starting to take off. The conversion of the Movitz is the first of its kind, replacing the massive diesel engine with a pair of 125 kW electric motors mounted to the side of the boat. This has the added bonus of increasing maneuverability compared to the stock arrangement, but the real star of this conversion is the 180 kWh nickel-hydride batteries.
Built by Echandia Marine, a local startup, the battery pack can be recharged in just 10 minutes, giving the Movitz enough juice to make its hour-long journey with just a ten-minute layover. The conversion is estimated to cut out 130 tons of CO2, and 1.5 tons of NOx emissions annually, though the real bonus comes from operating costs. Echandia estimates that its electric ferry cuts costs by 30%, giving ferry operators a huge incentive to carry out an electric conversion.
Save money. Save the world. What’s not to love?
source: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/05/ferry-converted-electric-power-can-recharge-batteries-just-10-minutes
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