Stena Line has concluded the first month with its vessel, the Stena Jutlandica, operating as a battery hybrid vessel. The firm – one of Europe's leading ferry companies – says that experiences from these first weeks have exceeded expectations.

 

“It's really exciting to be running with electrical power on the Stena Jutlandica. This project is an important part of our focused efforts to find ways of reducing our impact on the environment,” said Erik Lewenhaupt, Head of Sustainability at Stena Line. “As both the size and cost of batteries decrease, battery operation is becoming a very attractive alternative to traditional fuel for shipping since emissions should be possible to completely eliminate in the future.”

 

The journey to full electric

 

The project to convert Stena Jutlandica on the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn route to a battery hybrid vessel is being carried out in steps. Step one – presently underway – is about switching to electrical operation to reduce the use of diesel generators, as well as for manoeuvring and powering the bow thrusters when the ship is in port.

 

In the second step, battery power will be connected to two of the four primary machines, which means that the Stena Jutlandica will be able to run on electrical power for about 10 nautical miles inside the Gothenburg archipelago out to Vinga Lighthouse.

 

In step three, all four primary machines will be connected to the batteries and the ship will be able to cover the 50 nautical miles between Sweden and Denmark solely on electrical power.

 

Positive results

 

Positive effects have already been noted after just one month. “As an example, we've been able to strongly reduce our use of the diesel generators and now only need to use one instead of three,” said Johan Stranne, Senior Chief Engineer on the Stena Jutlandica. “Another positive effect concerns safety; by having constant access to electricity, we minimise the risk for power outages.” 

 

As a result of step one alone, the environmental savings from using battery power for reduced generator usage and manoeuvring in port amounts to about 500 tons of fuel – translating to 1,500 tons of CO2. This, in turn, corresponds to removing the annual emissions from approximately 600 cars from the atmosphere.

 

The reason for execution in multiple steps is to enable testing and assessment while the project is underway. If the project is successful, battery power can be considered for other vessels within the Stena Line fleet. Given the firm’s status as one of Europe's leading ferry companies with 38 vessels and 21 routes in Northern Europe, the impact of such a move would clearly translate into significant gains for the environment.

 

The technical solutions in the first step have been developed by Stena Teknik in collaboration with the Callenberg Technology Group, with half of the funding for the project coming from the Swedish Transport Administration and the EU.

 

Work with step two has begun and the goal is for implementation within about three years.