Mass Transit magazine features agency profiles, industry trends, management tips and new product information.
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20 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2014 N SWEDEN'S CAPITAL CITY, Stockholm, built across some 14 is- lands, ferries provide a crucial means of public transport. In August this year, one of them, the world's frst su- per-charged, will in the space of just 10 minutes create the frst zero-emis - sion waves in public transportation. Back in 2012, the Swedish Energy Agency, Energimyndigheten, as part of its demonstration of electrically pow- ered vehicles program, awarded a grant to Stockholm's Echandia Marine. Te idea was to reduce the detrimental efects on the environment caused by ferries, such as high carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and particulate matter emissions. Now in 2014, the energy agency's vision takes shape in the name of the E/S Movitz pro- totype, a 75-foot ferry, retroftted with two 125 kV electric motors that will propel it and the rest of maritime transportation into a zero-emissions reality. Sweden is ofen heralded for having an exemplary energy and climate policy due to the 2008/09:162 and 2008/09:163 legislation. Tis legislation set ambitious 2020 ener- gy-related targets back in 2009, including at least a 10 percent share of renewable energy in the transport sector and a vehicle stock that is independent of fossil fuels by 2030. According to the International En- vironmental Agency, the country is one of few to reach its energy targets, thanks to the promotion of efcient and environmentally friendly vehicles. One such vehicle is claimed by Echandia Marine, the company who designed and built the technology, to be the world's frst super-charged electric passenger ferry. Te company's innovative propulsion system and charging station is designed for both new and retroftted boats. With CEO and submarine designer Magnus Eriksson at the helm, this new clean tech has its roots in submarine technology. As Eriksson stated, "It is an exciting development that will save boat operators money as well as reducing air and noise pollution and make ferry travel cleaner and more pleasant for passengers and city dwellers alike." Te technology's leaning and inspira- tion are, perhaps, hardly surprising, given Eriksson's expertise and the fact that sub- marines have run on electricity since 1888. Spain's Issac Peral was the frst to equip a submarine with electric motors. Two 22 kW (30 hp) electric motors pushed the Peral Submarine through the water at 3 knots while a third one of 4 kW (6 hp) eliminated the carbon dioxide exhaled by the crew and inject additional oxygen when necessary. Te E/S Movitz, operated by Green City Ferries, meanwhile will need, ac- cording to Hans Tornell, CEO at Green City Ferries, 90 kW to cruise at 9 knots. It will also require just 10 minutes for its two super-advanced nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) 180 kWh batteries to be charged sufciently enough to carry 100 passen- gers on a Stockholm inner city route be- tween Solna Strand and Gamla Stan. Te ability to operate for an hour on such a short charge means that there can Stockholm's Supercharged Electric Ferry Set to Make Waves A retroft propulsion system ofers ferry transportation that's zero emission and takes just 10 minutes to charge. By Kai Whiting I