Page 47: of Marine News Magazine (November 2021)

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Feature

Electri? cation multiple battery options; its Deep Blue drive systems can tric ferry concept, dubbed CIT-E, for passenger transport, be con? gured to provide lithium-ion battery bank capac- particularly on urban waterways. The CIT-E boats, with ity of between 80 kWh and 1 MWh. capacity for as many 100 passengers, would be propelled

Much of the inspiration for U.S. designers and build- by twin steerable thrusters, delivering continuous power of ers will come from Europe and Asia, with a head start on 100 kW (peak power of 130 kW), according to Fassmer. electri? cation for working boats, and also passenger ferries, Electric solutions will not be ubiquitous. A more cautious serving the harbors and waterways. Rice, from MBB, men- view on electric power came from Ted Tregurtha, the presi- tioned BC Ferries’ project, and said, “Battery power makes dent of Moran Towing (involved in both harbor and coastal a lot of sense, because the boats go from Point A to Point work), on a panel at the 2021 ShippingInsight conference,

B, and then you can set your charging up.” Torqeeda’s Trk- held virtually in mid-October 2021. On the subject of bat- la cited electri? cation of vessels in Amsterdam, Paris and tery power, he told the online audience, “We are not there

Istanbul, as well as Bangkok, which he noted is running a yet,” explaining that “from Moran’s perspective, packing a ? eet of 20 Torqeedo-powered 40-passenger commuter ves- lot of energy into a very small package is dif? cult. We’ve sels (including new vessels and retro? tted diesel units). In not found commercially-ready technology for that.” He also early October, Torqeedo announced that it had teamed up expressed concerns about the present state of infrastructure, with Bremen-based boat-builder Fassmer, on a fully elec- saying, “Even for something as simple as battery power, in

Toreedo “One area that’s often overlooked when discussing electric vs conventional internal combustion systems is the superior instant torque delivered by electric drives at slow speeds.” – Steve Trkla, President of

Torqeedo’s U.S. arm www.marinelink.com MN 47|