Auckland's new electric ferries set to make waves worldwide

RNZ News

a day ago

Auckland Transport's first electric ferry has touched water for the first time.
Workers began the slow process of bringing the vessel from the McMullen & Wing shipyard factory floor into the nearby Tamaki River in Mt Wellington early Wednesday morning.
The first of two fully electric ferries will undergo technical tests here over the coming weeks, before trialling its seaworthiness inside the Hauraki Gulf.
"In about a month's time we'll be taking it down the river and charging up at Auckland Transport's new charging station in Half Moon Bay," said EV Maritime chief executive Michael Eaglen.
"Then we'll be doing trialling more broadly on the Hauraki Gulf, which we're expecting to be handing over to Auckland Transport in probably around about three months' time.
"These are highly automated boats, so you test all the automation systems, take it to the point where we can then hand it over to Auckland Transport who can bring their operator on board and get into crew training," he said.
Auckland Transport ferry programme director Nathan Cammock said the main route the EV Maritime ferries will run will be between Half Moon Bay and downtown Auckland, although they may take the occasional trip to Devonport and Hobsonville Point.
"They're designed for mid-harbour routes so those are routes between 30 to 45 minutes journey time."
"These two new electric vessels will service the Half Moon Bay route and we may see them go to other destinations over time," said Cammock.
He said each boat cost about $20 million.
"The New Zealand government has provided the biggest contribution around two-thirds of the cost of each vessel, the remaining third is split between NZTA Waka Kotahi and Auckland Council.
"So a lot of parties have come together to make sure this project is successful," he said.
The first work on the boats began in 2022 and they could begin service before the end of year, although Auckland Transport said there was still no fixed date for when commercial sailing will start.
"We're not keen to rush it, we want it fully tested and commissioned and any issues are worked out so when it's handed over to Auckland Transport its working as expected," said Cammock.
The fully electric ferries were designed by EV Maritime, while the propulsion technology was created by HamiltonJet in Christchurch.
The ferry is made from carbon-fibre composite will be able to reach speeds of up to 25 knots - or 46 km/h - with a capacity of 200 passengers.
The ferries are expected to have a lifespan of more than 30 years.
Auckland Transport said the batteries were anticipated to have a lifespan of about 10 years before requiring a replacement.
Although Auckland Transport did expect newer, lighter and higher-capacity batteries to be available as technology advances.
The EV Charger that will be used at the ferry terminals can operate at roughly 10 times the speed of a Tesla supercharger, rated at up to 3.3 megawatts.
The ferries will charge while passengers board and disembark, needing 10 minutes of charge time to have enough power for a one-way journey.
It is expected they will do eight return trips per day, meaning they will need to charge 16 times over the course of a day's service.
McMullen & Wing director David Porter said today's launch was a success and showcased the strength of New Zealand innovation.
"The day is a milestone in which we can show the world what is possible and I know there are people out there for some time, looking to ride on these ferry boats and be convinced that it all works," he said.
"There's scepticism always in new technology but today we've taken a real step in proving that we're on our way."
"There's a great team in the background, I don't build the boats, we've got a team that do. Michael's (Eaglen) team does the design work and it all fits in together and we've got a great group of really good contractors," said Porter.
The New Zealand designed and made electric ferries were also world leading.
Eaglen said the eyes of the world were eagerly watching the project, with only two or three other similar ventures known internationally.
"This is a really high-profile project from an international ferry world perspective, as I said, there's been a lot of vehicle ferries electrified, but very few fast passenger ferries," he said.
"We've got a lot of people very keenly aware of what we're doing here and very much looking forward to coming down here.
"It's believed to be the first one going into a really rigourous, high-frequency core public transport service and it's also the first one to be using the new megawatt charging standard, which I think is going to be the new standard for electric ferry operations around the world.
"So this is a really important demonstrator for EV Maritime as a project for our kind of export ambitions.
"We're really grateful to the government and to Auckland Transport for supporting us with putting their faith in us for these first projects and helping us get these first boats in the water and demonstrated because that's how you grow an export industry, and that's what we're trying to do here," said Eaglen.
Cammock said they were keen to support launch what could be a new industry for New Zealand.
"It's a great example of New Zealand innovation... a great opportunity for a technology export industry to grow off the back of New Zealand's existing maritime industry.
"EV Maritime have been proactive in the market and have got some early contracts overseas and we're looking forward to supporting that with these new boats going on the water," he said.
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