Ships equipped with giant solar electric sails
NORWEGIAN company Hurtigruten introduces a passenger electric train with a retractable sail covered with solar cells, expected to set sail in 2030.
The zero-emission model is 135 meters long. Photo: Hurtigruten
The company Hurtigruten currently has a fleet of eight ships, each with a capacity of 500 passengers, moving along the Norwegian coast from Oslo to the Arctic Circle. The company's CEO Hedda Felin hopes the new initiative can inspire the entire maritime industry. The project called "Sea Zero" was first announced in March 2022. Since then, together with 12 partners and the research institute SINTEF, Hurtigruten has explored technological solutions to achieve zero-emissions transport at sea.
Hurtigruten's passenger ship design will be powered primarily by a 60-megawatt battery pack that can be charged with clean energy in port, as renewables make up 98% of Norway's electrical system. Gerry Larsson-Fedde, senior vice president of Hurtigruten, estimates the battery pack has a range of 555-648km, meaning that on an 11-day round trip, the passenger train only needs to be charged about seven to eight times.
To reduce dependence on the battery pack, when it is windy, 3 sails will rise from the deck, reaching a maximum height of 50 m. These sails can be adjusted independently, lowering when passing under the bridge or changing the angle to catch the best wind. The trio of sails cover a total of 1,500 square meters of solar cells, which can generate energy to supplement the battery pack. The amount of battery power will be displayed on the side of the ship. "In Norway, although it sometimes gets dark in the winter, the Sun still has sunlight in the south. The sun shines continuously all day in the summer," Larsson-Fedde said.
The ship will have 270 cabins with a capacity of 500 passengers and 99 crew members. The ship's elongated shape helps to reduce air drag, contributing to reduced energy use. Over the next two years, Hurtigruten will examine the technological proposal before finalizing design in 2026 and shipyard production in 2027. The first ship will set sail in Norway in 2030. After that, the company hopes to gradually shift the entire fleet to zero-emission ships.
An Khang (According to CNN )
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