The solar ferry travels the same route as the previous, diesel-powered ferry, which lost its operating license a couple of years ago. That created a problem for the village of Kamp, where the ferry departs the mainland.
“People still arrived on bicycles and wanted to get on the ferry” said Siegfried Henck, who presides over the local harbour association. “But then they realised: The ferry is gone. For our tourism, it was a disaster. Really tough. So, they decided to organise a new ferry service. It would have been nonsense [to build] something with diesel again. Most visitors arrive by bicycle and muscle-power so a quiet, clean and emission-free electric ferry fit the bill.”
The Antonia vom Kamp operates at 8 km/h with a max speed of 15 km/h and is propelled by a single, 60 kW Deep Blue electric azimuth thruster (rudder propeller). The system is completed by two Deep Blue batteries with a total capacity of 80 kWh and a 4.3 kWp solar installation. The boatbuilders, Ostseestaal and Ampereship, estimate that the new solar-electric propulsion system will save twenty tonnes of CO2 every year.
“We can cover our energy needs almost entirely with the photovoltaic system” added Kay Peters, managing director of Oderhaff Reederei Peters GmbH, the company that operates the new ferry. “Electric motors… only consume energy when the ship is moving. Here we have no gearbox, no losses, nothing. The ongoing costs in terms of maintenance, oil changes, and spare parts are much lower.”
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