The biggest electric ferry boat in the world has just had its maiden trip on August 15. From then on, the E-Ferry Ellen will have the mission to connect the ports of Søby and Fynshav, on the islands of Aerø and Als, in southern Denmark. With a 4.3 MWh battery pack. How do you even recharge that? The video above shows us how they do it.
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The port has a robot arm stored in a green container that takes care of connecting the DC cable that recharges the Ellen for a range of 22 nautical miles, which would be ten times longer than its closest competitor.
'The problem is that, when you check the distance between the ports of Søby and Fynshav, they are 10.7 Nm away from each other. A full battery charge would be enough for one round trip. If the first leg did not require much more energy than expected.
The Ellen can carry 31 cars and 198 passengers on each trip. And travel at a top speed of 13 knots. It is 2,339 in long (59.4 m), 528 in wide (13.4 m), and weighs 650 tons. It is a pity there is no mention of the charging capacity nor on the time it takes to fully charge the 4.3 MWh battery pack.
'If you have no idea how much is that, the biggest land electric vehicle, the eDumper, has a 700 kWh battery pack that weighs 8 tons. The Ellen battery pack is six times larger than the one presented by the electric mining truck.
The battery chemistry used for the Ellen is G-NMC lithium-ion. The company that has supplied them, Leclanché, claims the cells have unique safety features, such as bi-cellular laminated design and ceramic separators.
We are not sure if this sort of chemistry is heavier than the ones used in electric cars. Anyway, the video mentions about 840 batteries placed in two rooms on the ship. And that the battery pack alone weighs 56 tons.
The companies involved in building and operating the electric ferry believe it will help save 2,000 tons of CO2, 42 tonnes of NOX, 2.5 tons of particulates, and 1.4 tons of SO2 every year.
Source: Leclanché via Green Car Congress
Gallery: Check The Largest Electric Ferry Boat Of the World From The Inside
The World's Largest Electric Ferry, Powered by Leclanché, has Completed its Maiden Voyage
"Ellen," the world's largest all-electric ferry, today connected the ports of Søby and Fynshav (Denmark). As the project's energy storage partner, Leclanché provided the groundbreaking battery system for this project.
Aug 15, 2019, 15:23 ET
YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland and DALLAS and ANDERSON, Ind., Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's largest all-electric ferry, named E-ferry Ellen, made its first commercial trip early this morning, connecting the ports of Søby and Fynshav, on the islands of Aerø and Als, in southern Denmark. This revolutionary ship, capable of carrying approximately 30 vehicles and 200 passengers, is powered by a battery system with an unprecedented capacity of 4.3MWh provided by Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN), one of the world's leading energy storage companies.
Participating in this event celebrating the first scheduled ferry service between the two Danish islands were the respective mayors of the two municipalities, Ole Wej Petersen of Aerø and Erik Lauritzen of Søndeborg. E-ferry Ellen is expected to be fully operational within a few weeks. E-ferry is part of the Danish Natura project, which aims to provide environmentally friendly transport for local residents. This project was initiated in 2015 and was funded by the European Union through the Horizon 2020 and Innovation Program.
Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said: "We are very proud to provide a specifically designed unique lithium-ion battery system to this ferry, the precursor to a new era in the commercial marine sector. With its 4.3MWh capacity, the E-ferry represents a new milestone in commercial marine propulsion. Over one year, it will prevent the release of 2,000 tons of CO2, 42 tonnes of NOX, 2.5 tons of particulates and 1.4 tons of SO2 into the atmosphere. This project demonstrates that today we can replace fossil fuel thermal drives with clean energy, and thus contribute to the fight against global warming and pollution for the well-being of our communities."
The battery system supplied by Leclanché uses high-energy G-NMC lithium-ion cells with unique safety features, including a bi-cellular laminated design and ceramic separators. Leclanché specifically designs and engineers a Class Type Approved and Certified Marine Rack Systems (MRS) including fire prevention and extinguishing systems. The project has received the DNV-GL Type Approval Certificate and the DNV-GL Product Certificate. The Swiss company develops and manufactures its own graphite/NMC (nickel-manganese cobalt lithium oxide) and LTO (titanate lithium oxide) cells. The parallel and redundant battery and powertrain systems make the E-ferry a safe and reliable vessel.
The E-ferry has been designed with unique integrated battery and transmission systems that offer unparalleled operating efficiency.
In its fast-growing eTransport Solutions business, Leclanché is the supplier of choice of several leading maritime transport companies, accelerating the shift towards greater hybridization and electrification of the merchant fleet in compliance with new regulations on port approaches and anchorage.
About Leclanché
Leclanché SA, headquartered in Switzerland, is a leading provider of high-quality energy storage solutions designed to accelerate our progress towards a clean energy future. Leclanché's history and heritage are rooted in more than 100 years of battery and energy storage innovation and the company is a trusted provider of energy storage solutions worldwide. This, combined with the company's culture of German engineering, precision and Swiss quality, makes Leclanché the partner of choice for troublemakers, established companies and governments that are at the forefront of positive changes in the way energy is produced, distributed and consumed around the world. The energy transition is driven mainly by changes in the management of our electricity grids and the electrification of transportation, and these two end markets are the backbone of our strategy and business model. Leclanché is at the heart of the convergence of transport electrification and the evolution of the distribution network. Leclanché is the only pure play energy storage company listed worldwide, organized into three business units: stationary storage solutions, e-Transport solutions and specialized battery systems. Leclanché is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX: LECN).