Corvus Energy has announced that it has been selected by Holland Ship Electric to supply lithium-ion battery-based energy storage systems (ESS) for five new all-electric ferries being built by the shipyard group for Amsterdam’s municipal public transport provider, GVB.
The ferries will operate on three of the North Sea Canal routes, replacing the current fleet built in the 1930s. The routes in the North Sea Canal are among the busiest routes, transporting more than 350,000 cars each year. The replacement of the ferries is in line with the sustainability goals set by GVB and the Municipality of Amsterdam to provide zero-emission public transportation in the Municipality of Amsterdam and surroundings. The aim of GVB’s extensive newbuilding and retrofit program is that the entire fleet will be hybrid or fully electric by 2025.
Kim Strate Kiegstad, vice president, sales, at Corvus Energy, observed, “We see that the adoption rate for maritime energy storage systems is increasing significantly across the globe – and especially in Europe. In every market, this is a process that needs to mature. Companies such as GVB leading by example will help local shipbuilding and shipowners increase their level of knowledge of the technology and its benefits. We do expect that almost every future newbuild will have some kind of energy efficiency solution included.”
All five of the electric ferries are of the Ijveer design and will be built in the Netherlands. Each ferry is 41m in length and 13.9m wide, and holds 20 cars, four trucks or 400 passengers. The ferries will be equipped with air-cooled Corvus Orca Energy ESS that will supply electrical power to each vessel’s all-electric power and propulsion system.
The first new ferry is scheduled to arrive in the summer of 2021. After that, one will arrive every six months, until 2023.