A total of 576 kWh of energy storage will be placed in the two catamaran hulls of this futuristic-looking vessel, which is being built by Brødrene Aa. The Seasight is built on the same concept that ZEM used in the supply vessel VIKING QUEEN, the Eidesvik vessel on charter for Lundin Petroleum in the North Sea. The battery system uses Li Ion MNC cells and modules from LG Chem, adapted for maritime use by ZEM, together with our partners, Nidec-ASI. The hybrid tourist vessel will carry up to 400 passengers between Flåm and Gudvangen along the Nærøyfjord in the west of Norway. The boat is the first of a new Brødrene Aa design created to give tourists a new type of sightseeing experience.
ABB onboard DC Grid will transfer energy to the ZEM battery during charging while the vessel moves at around 20 km/hour to the sights while the diesel engines are running, at both ends of the voyage. Once the ferry has arrived in the most scenic part of the fjord, it will switch to full battery power, operating in almost complete silence at around 10 knots (approximately 18km/h). The Nærøyfjord, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, remains largely unspoiled by human development.
Seasight will complete around 700 journeys a year for its owner, The Fjords, from May 2016. The vessel design is inspired by the famous “Trollstigen”, a road winding up the steep mountainside. The futuristic vessel measures 40m in length and 15m in width. Passengers can climb all over the boat to enjoy the scenery, or sit inside to enjoy a panoramic view of the fjords. The construction of the carbon-fibre vessel is already under way at Brødrene Aa.