Stralsunder Ostseestaal GmbH & Co. KG has been commissioned by Hafenprojektgesellschaft Helgoland mbH with the development and construction of an all-electric ferry.
The so-called dune ferry will connect the German North Sea island of Heligoland with the neighbouring island of Dune. It will replace the ‘Witte Kliff’ ferry, which has been operating on the approximately one kilometre-long route since 1997 and is powered by conventional marine fuel. The new electric-solar ferry will be 15.2 metres long and 5.6 metres wide and offer space for 95 passengers.
The new zero-emission and fully electric ferry is being built by Ostseestaal and its sister company Ampereship. ‘With the ferry for Heligoland, we are realising another project for the use of zero-emission electric solar ships on the German coast,’ says Dirk Zademack, General Manager of Ampereship. Over the past few years, the Stralsund-based companies have delivered very differently designed electric solar ferries, which operate between the mainland and the island of Usedom, on the river Warnow in Rostock and on the river Trave in Lübeck. The ship design and engineering of the new ferry comes from Ampereship. The ship has a battery bank with a capacity of 1175 kWh and a drive power of 2 x 125 kW. It can travel at a maximum speed of ten knots.
Over the past two decades, Ostseestaal and Ampereship have become Europe's leading manufacturer of electric solar-powered vessels for professional inland shipping. At the end of last year, for example, two electric solar ferries were delivered for Lake Iseo in northern Italy. These are the first fully electric ferries in Italy. The Stralsund-based companies Ostseestaal and Ampereship have built a total of 22 electric solar-powered ships for various purposes to date. With the construction contract for the new dune ferry for Heligoland, Ostseestaal and Ampereship are realising their 23rd shipbuilding project to date. Construction of the Heligoland ferry is scheduled to take one year.
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