Imagine seeing one of these new electric ferries speeding across the water on Sydney Harbour, or up and down the major rivers of Australia’s cities such as the Brisbane River in Brisbane or the Yarra River in Melbourne.
While not yet a thing here, visitors and commuters in the Swedish city of Stockholm now have the opportunity to experience high speed hydrofoil water transport as part of the public transport system.
In a bid to battle the emissions of the city’s ferries and encourage more people to use the waterways to move around, Stockholm’s government embraced the opportunity to introduce a novel flying electric Candela P-12 ferry to its line up and test the results.
The ferry took on Route 89 between the suburb of Ekerö and central Stockholm, and, according to a newly released report by the city’s Maritime Transport Committee, travel time was reduced from 55 minutes to around 30 minutes, while carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 94 per cent compared to diesel vessels.
Chair of the Maritime Transport Committee Michaela Haga says the results are game changing for the city.
“We are facing a paradigm shift for seaborne public transport and a major focus is on reducing emissions and energy use. The project has shown that it is possible to combine traffic that is both twice as fast and almost completely emission-free,” Haga says.
Candela’s hydrofoiling P-12 is the first vessel of its kind in serial production.
It “flies” above the water on computer-controlled foils that dramatically reduce water drag and energy consumption compared to conventional vessels. The design of the ferry enables long range and high speed on battery power alone.
Sound measurements highlighted in the report show the P-12 to be as quiet as a car on summer tires travelling at 45 km/h and barely audible from 25 meters away.
The high flying ferry has attracted the attention of commuters and tourists, with patronage increased by 22.5 per cent during the study period.
“The project has given us proof that the technology works and is appreciated.,” Haga says. “The next step is that we will test energy storage in the archipelago to see how we can develop the charging infrastructure without burdening the electricity grid, to both support electrified maritime traffic and for increased preparedness.”
A simulation created for the report found that replacing two current diesel ferries with six P-12 vessels showed that departures could increase to every 15 minutes instead of once per hour and passenger capacity would grow by 150 per cent.
CEO and founder of Candela Technologies Gustav Hasselskog says the results of the Stockholm project have been positive for the company.
“We’re extremely pleased that the official evaluation confirms what passengers and operators have already experienced – that the Candela P-12 can transform urban waterways.
“By combining high speed, minimal energy use, and near-zero emissions, we can unlock faster, cleaner, and more cost-efficient waterborne transport for cities worldwide.”
The P-12 is already in serial production, with Candela’s Stockholm factory ramping up to 40 vessels per year. Deliveries have started to customers in places including Mumbai, the Maldives, Thailand, Berlin.
Sydney Harbour has seen traditional diesel hydrofoil ferries in the past, with Italian PT-50 models on the water from 1965 to the early 1990s. They were superseded by the new catamaran style ferries seen today.