A new all-electric passenger ferry, claimed to be the fastest of its type in the world, will launch in Stockholm in 2022. Designed by Swedish technology company Candela, the P-30 can carry up to 30 passengers at a speed of up to 30kts.
The vessel has been designed to replace the city’s 60 existing diesel boats that ferry commuters and visitors across Stockholm’s 30,000-island archipelago. Following a series of sea trials, the P-30 will begin commercial operation in 2023. As well as being the fastest all-electric passenger ship in the world, it will boast the longest operating range and be the most energy-efficient fast ferry ever built.
The P-30 project has been funded jointly by Candela and the Swedish Transport Agency. Propulsion is provided by two 60kW electric pod drives, and the vessel will have a 180kWh lithium-ion battery. This will give it a range of 60+ nautical miles at a speed of 20kts on a single charge. The P-30’s energy consumption is around 3kWh per nautical mile, just a tenth of conventional ship’s.
Smooth operation of the vessel is made possible by the flight controller, a computer-based system that analyzes the boat’s pitch and roll 100 times a second and automatically adjusts the hydrofoils to keep the boat level above the waves. Due to this, energy consumption has been reduced by 80%, enabling the ship to have a much greater range compared with other currently available fast ferries. Furthermore, the P-30 creates virtually no wake, so is suitable for applications in urban waterways.
“Today, most of our waterways are unused for mass transit, even though most highways are congested during rush-hour traffic,” commented Gustav Hasselskog, the founder and CEO of Candela. “Opening up urban waterways for high-speed electric transport can revolutionize commuting in cities such as San Francisco, Seoul or Amsterdam – at a very low cost. There’s no need to build new infrastructure.”
Following a report by the municipality of Stockholm, the P-30 is estimated to have an overall operating cost that is half that of traditional diesel ferry commuters.
Candela’s director of public transportation, Erik Eklund, said, “Our goal is to prove that our electric hydrofoil ferries are much cheaper, more comfortable and a lot more versatile than conventional vessels. It’s not just an alternative to other ships, but a whole new take on public transportation.”