Today Norway boasts about 80 electric commuter ferries in operation. It designed, built and operates two global firsts: the world’s first all-electric ferry, MS Ampere, and the first high-speed electric ferry, MS Medstraum.
In addition, the ferry company Bastø Fosen operates the world’s largest e-ferry across the Oslofjord’s busiest commuter route.
Norway’s electric ferry success began in 2015, when Ampere began transporting people across the Sognefjord in Western Norway. Owned and operated by Norled and designed and constructed by Fjellstrand,
Ampere has received several international awards, including the Seatrade Clean Shipping Award in 2015 and the Ship Efficiency Award in 2018. It was also named Ship of the Year in 2014.
Fast forward to 2022, when a high-speed passenger ferry called Medstraum took its maiden voyage on a multi-stop commuter route between the city of Stavanger and the surrounding communities. Medstraum will reduce emissions in the region by 1 500 metric tons, the equivalent of taking 60 buses off the road. Like Ampere, it was named Ship of the Year, this time in 2022.
Culture of collaboration with Europe
Such a groundbreaking project requires the joining of innovative minds. Headed by Norwegians, the express ferry is the result of a European collaboration. “Medstraum is actually a European project. We have an international outlook and excel at cooperation,” says Kjell Arne Nielsen, Special Advisor on Green Maritime at Innovation Norway.
Medstraum emerged from the EU-funded TrAM project, initiated by the Norwegian industry cluster Maritime CleanTech.
Fourteen European partners cooperated to create a zero-emission fast ferry through advanced modular production, reducing manufacturing and engineering costs.
The partners came from Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. (See the partner list below.)
As a testament to collaboration, the TrAM project was nominated for the European Sustainable Energy Award for Innovation for 2023.
Read more :
Candela C-8 First Electric Boat Successfully Crosses the Baltic Sea
