How to electrify passenger ferries? Just put on hydrofoils

According to the Californian start-up Boundary Layer Technologies, the transition from traditional ferries to those with hydrofoil construction will significantly accelerate their transition to a zero-emission form of electric propulsion. To prove this, he developed the concept of an electric hydrofoil shuttle called Electra.

Hydrofoils are said to open the door to how to electrify passenger ferries

Due to the fact that Electra is a hydrofoil, i.e. a ship with airfoils (hydrofoils) under the fuselage, which work similarly to the wings of an airplane, part of the fuselage emerges from the water as speed increases, boasts higher speed and range. In this case, the maximum speed of 74 km / h and the range of 160 kilometers are at stake, and this is only because the ship, instead of cutting the water with its entire hull, starts to “slide” on the waves after picking up speed.

Also read: 44 billion to upgrade the F-22 Raptor. Lockheed Martin won a huge contract

Hydrofoil technology is key to the electrification of passenger ferries. By reducing the ship’s drag twice, the power requirements are also cut in half, increasing the speed and range of what an electric ferry can do, which is to open the door to electrification of most ferry routes around the world.

Said designboom Ed Kearney, CEO of Boundary Layer Technologies.

Also read: Police tapes stolen. Thousands of gigabytes of helicopter material in the hands of hackers

Electra has on board 9,000 kWh batteries with the option of quick charging in just three hours. Thanks to them and electric motors, it is not only much quieter (by up to 20 dB in the cabin), but also quite economical, as it can travel with up to 150 people and is 35% cheaper to operate. If that was not enough, the design of the hydrofoil makes it better able to cope with choppy water.