A new electric ferry allows commuters in one of Europe’s prettiest capitals to zoom through its waterways using special wings.
Nova, a hydrofoil ferry powered by electric motors, began operating in Stockholm late last month, offering an energy efficient new way to travel into the Swedish city, which is built on more than a dozen islands.
The ferry, which is built by boat manufacturer Candela, skims as much as a metre above the water. In October, it took passengers from Ekero, a suburb in Stockholm county, to the capital’s city hall – a journey of some nine miles – in just half an hour as it opened to the public for the first time, AP reported.
The morning commute via an old-style diesel-powered ferry line takes 15 minutes longer without stops.
It’s taking to the waves in a 9-moth pilot which, Gustav Hemming, the city councilor in charge of climate and infrastructure says it intended to “make more people park their cars and buy a (public transportation) card instead.”
Hemming said the city introduced the service “to show the way in the green transition at sea”.
Candela’s chief executive and co-founder Gustav Hasselskog told Zag Daily that the ferries “not only speed up the commute in Stockholm, and will do so elsewhere, but they also cut emissions drastically”.
“Stockholm’s public transport is largely emission-free except for the city’s vessels which use the bulk of fossil fuels used by the public transport system. They are also very costly to run,” he added.
The city’s 70-odd public transport vessels reporedly consume more fossil fuels than all of its trains and buses combined.
Nova was the first of the firm’s new P-12 model to enter service, Hasselskog said. Using computer-controlled hydrofoil wings, the vessel lifts its hull above water, which is said to cut energy consumption by 80% compared to conventional vessels.
The boats, which are designed to carry 25 passengers, are operated by the city’s public transport provider SL.
Part of the route is subject to speed limits, but on open water the hydrofoil is free to reach impressive speeds. Nova cruises at around 25 knots (29 mph) but is capable of reaching 30 knots (35 mph) putting it some way beyond what other electric passenger ferries are capable of.
Another thing going for the vessel, which can operate in waves of up to two metres, is that it’s exempt from the 12-knot speed limit in Stockholm due to the fact that it leaves no wake.
The restriction, with other boats are subject to, prevent waves swamping other vessels or causing erosion the shoreline, as per the news agency.
Candela, which hopes waterborne transport will be also championed in other major cities like New York and Venice, says the technology cuts the energy per passenger-kilometer by 95% compared with the diesel ferries operating in the archipelago.
The year 2022 saw some 6.2 million public transport boat journeys in the Stockholm region, and though these types of journey remain a small part of the public transit system as a whole, it’s the fastest-growing mode of public transport following the pandemic.
