EMEA News
Hybrid Ferry Reduces Fuel Use by 38%
Imtech Marine (Imtech) reports that hybrid propulsion systems have produced fuel savings of 38 percent for two ferries operating off the west coast of Scotland.
The company said it had expected savings of around 20 percent when it supplied the systems, consisting of diesel electric and battery technology, to ferry operator Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. (CMAL) in 2011.
"In our initial estimates we had planned to save at least 20% on fuel, when we received the reports that the actual fuel savings were almost twice that number we were pleasantly surprised," said CMAL's Jim Anderson.
"With this achievement the CO2 emissions have been effectively reduced so we also made a major step towards the reduction of the carbon footprint."
Imtech has carried out two weeks of optimising trials on the MV Hallaig, discovering that charging the batteries overnight produced 28 percent fuel savings, while the other 10 percent was produced by "smart charging" with an energy management system.
Eventually, the ferry operator plans to use wind energy to charge the batteries, further boosting the system's sustainability.
Imtech said it is seeing increasing interest in hybrid technologies, which may help reach European emissions-reduction goals, while also bringing down noise and fuel use.
U.S. and Danish ferries are also using hybrid systems to reduce emissions and fuel use.
