Stena Line’s Stena Jutlandica has successfully completed its first month of operation as a battery hybrid vessel. 

The project, aimed at converting the ferry to be able to run on electrical power, is part of Stena Line’s efforts to find ways of reducing its impact on the environment, as explained by 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,” Lewenhaupt said.

The project involving Stena Jutlandica, which operates on the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn route, is being carried out in steps.

Step one, which is presently underway, is about switching to electrical operation to reduce the use of diesel generators, as well as for maneuvering 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.

As informed, 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. Another positive effect concerns safety; by having constant access to electricity, we minimize the risk for power outages,” Johan Stranne, Senior Chief Engineer on the Stena Jutlandica, said.

Only in step one, the environmental savings from using battery power for reduced generator usage and maneuvering in port amounts to about 500 tons of fuel, 1,500 tons of CO2. This in turn corresponds to the annual emissions from approximately 600 cars.

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. Work with step two has begun and the goal is for implementation within about three years, according to Stena Line.

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.