M/V Prinsesse Benedikte with Corvus Energy System
Photo courtesy of Scandlines

First vessel in world’s largest fleet of hybrid ferries wins prestigious efficiency award

London, United Kingdom ⎯ Corvus Energy and Scandlines announced today (10-6-14) their win of the Ship Efficiency Awards for 2014 for the retrofit of Scandlines’ M/V Prinsesse Benedikte to hybrid propulsion.

Scandlines’ hybrid ferry M/V Prinsesse Benedikte is a significant milestone as it represents the world’s largest ever hybrid propulsion marine battery pack – in terms of emissions reductions, the system equals approximately 600 hybrid cars and can propel the 6,600 ton lightweight ferry for about 30 minutes without diesel fuel and at a speed of 14 knots.

The Ship Efficiency Award recognizes the significant increase in efficiency and associated reductions in fuel consumption and emissions of the hybrid ferry. The vessel has also been awarded the status of “Highly Commended” at the Lloyds List Innovation Awards in September 2014.

M/V Prinsesse Benedikte, the first of four hybrid ferries now in the Scandlines fleet proved that large-scale lithium energy storage is a safe, reliable and cost effective means of reducing pollution in the shipping industry. Together, M/V Prinsesse Benedikte and M/V Deutschland, M/V Schleswig-‐ Holstein and M/V Prins Richard represent the largest fleet of battery-hybrid ferries in operation today.

A vital economic link between Germany and Denmark, the ferries are in operation on the Puttgarden to Rødby route. In service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and with sailings every 30 minutes from each side, the new hybrid fleet delivers significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved maintenance costs and optimised engine performance. This increase in efficiency resulted in significantly decreased operating expenses and an expected payback in less than five years.

“Scandlines is a true industry leader within ferry operators. We are very pleased that the Corvus’ large format energy storage system is helping to enable their success,” said Grant Brown, Corvus Energy Vice President, Global Marketing. “Our performance and safety attributes are now validated by our partners, customers and the independent certification bodies Lloyd’s Register, DNV and ABS. Corvus is the only lithium energy storage system to have these safety and quality qualifications.”

The hybrid propulsion system on the route Puttgarden-Rødby is a key element of the Scandlines strategy for more sustainable ferry traffic and marks the start of a series of large investments in environmental technologies. 2013-‐2015 Scandlines will invest more than 25 million EUR in sustainable technologies on the route Puttgarden-‐Rødby. In addition, further investments are planned for other Scandlines routes.

Fini A. Hansen, Technical Superintendent, Fleet Management, Scandlines Danmark A/S says, “Scandlines’ investment in hybridising their fleet will benefit not only the people in the areas adjacent to the harbour and beyond in terms of reduced pollution, but also the company in terms of reduced operating costs. Scandlines’ experience with Corvus Energy has been great; their talented team and robust product offering make them an ideal partner on these conversions.”

This article (10-6-14) is an EV News Report repost, credit: Corvus.

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