Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania is currently building the world’s largest zero-emissions catamaran ferry which will be fully battery-powered and use a battery electric propulsion system and waterjets from Finnish technology giant Wärtsilä.
Incat Tasmania selected Wärtsilä to provide the battery electric propulsion system and waterjets in a deal announced in August 2023. The lightweight battery-powered catamaran was ordered by South American ferry company Buquebús and will be used to operate between Argentina and Uruguay.
Capable of carrying 2,100 passengers and crew, 225 cars, as well as a duty-free shop of over 2,000 square metres, the Ro-Pax ferry will be delivered to Buquebús some time in 2025. Now we have some details about the battery and propulsion systems that will power it.
Image Credit: Incat Tasmania
Wärtsilä will be responsible for a number of systems to be used by the catamaran, including the power conversion system, smart energy management system, 40MWh battery modules, eight electric motors, and eight waterjets.
Wärtsilä will also provide the DC shore charging system and its own propulsion control system.
And, according to Wärtsilä, “The package of the battery modules and energy storage system will yield 4 times the power of any of the ones on today’s electric or hybrid ships.”
How to power this special, zero-emissions catamaran ferry
The eight main waterjets will be Wärtsilä axial flow WXJ1100 waterjets and have been designed and optimised for a medium speed of 25 knots. Each jet will be powered by a permanent magnet e-motor, also provided by Wärtsilä.
Incat and Wärtsilä have had a longstanding relationship, with a total of 200 waterjets delivered to Incat Shipyard. Thanks to Wärtsilä waterjets, Incat’s catamarans have become faster and bigger, as well as more efficient.
Importantly, the waterjets to be used in the new battery-powered catamaran were not larger than before, and are in fact smaller, tens of tonnes lighter than on previous Incat installations.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.