Estonian ferry upgrades to battery-hybrid

The ferry operator TS Laevad, a subsidiary of the listed port company, Tallinna Sadam, operates the ferry routes between western Estonia’s major islands and mainland. The upgraded hybrid-ferry, Tõll, serving the Virtsu-Kuivastu route, is expected to reduce the consumption of diesel fuel by one fifth as a result of the hybridisation project.

Norwegian Electric Systems is the system integrator on the project and has developed a hybrid-electric propulsion system which has been successfully delivered on several ferries, comprising a Quest energy storage system, Norwegian Electric switchboard, Norwegian electric transformer, energy management system, project management, engineering and calculations together with commissioning and sea trial.

LMG Marin has designed the hybrid solution and the battery banks are supplied by Corvus Energy.

The conversion work will take place in Q4 2019, and according to the agreement, Tõll will be sailing on battery power by February 2020. If the project proves successful, the technology will then be deployed on all four new environmentally-friendly electric ferries operated by TS Laevad.