A fully electric carbon fibre ferry is due to be launched in April 2018. Named the Future of the Fjords, it will have a similar design to the current diesel electric plug-in hybrid ferry, the Vision of the Fjords.
Announced by Monica Maeland, Minister of Trade and Industry, during a briefing onboard Vision of the Fjords in Oslo, she said the development of this vessel represents a gigantic step forward.
The vessel is currently under construction at Brothers Aa in Hyen and is expected to cost NKr 144m ($17m) which is NKr54m more than its predecessor.
NKr 17.8m of this cost will come from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
It will be propelled by two 300kW electric motors and will travel at a speed of 16 knots between Flåm and Gudvangen, carrying out 700 trips a year.
The Fjords CEO, Rolf Sandvik, said that developing a ferry like this for tourists has been made possible by having two progressive owners in the fjords, Fjord1 and Flam AS.
The development of this vessel also marks the steps the Norwegian government is taking to make Norway one of the most innovative countries in Europe, according to Maeland. The Research Council announced recently that NKr 1bn has been awarded for industry research and innovation, making a total of NKr 3bn investment into this area since 2013.
Fathom-News
editor@fathom-mi.com
