E-ferry ''Ellen'' () is a pioneering electric car ferry. She operates the route between the islands of

Ærø Ærø () is one of the Denmark, Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of the Region of Southern Denmark, Southern Denmark Region. Since 1 January 2006 all of Ærø has constituted a single Municipalities of Denmark, municipality, known as Ærø M ...

and

Als Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions. ...

History

''Ellen'' was developed from E-Ferry, an EU-backed project costing EUR 21.3 million. Although this is around 40% more expensive than a conventional vessel, operating costs are 75% lower. It is expected that she will save the release of 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. The ferry was built by Søby Værft A/S, with sections fabricated in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland. In September 2016, 22 sections were welded together and the hull was towed to Søby on Ærø for outfitting.

Project evaluation

The E-ferry project ended successfully in June 2020, with ''Ellen'' in service. Evaluation of the project shows *85% energy efficiency (grid-to-propeller) *1600 kWh consumption (per roundtrip of 22 nautical miles; approx. 40 km) *4–8 years before higher investment cost turns into savings from lower operational costs *2,520 tonnes/year emissions saved (compared to a modern diesel ferry; using electricity produced on Ærøby from clean renewable sources; 2,010 tonnes if powered from the standard Danish grid mix) * emissions from battery production estimated 215-430 tonnes (three months emissions from the best modern diesel ferry)

Layout

''Ellen'' can carry 30 vehicles and 200 passengers. She was designed to minimise weight. Her passenger areas are on the same level as the open car deck. She has no ramps, instead using those on shore. The hull is steel but the bridge is made of aluminum. Deck furniture is made from recycled paper rather than wood, giving the ferry a total weight of 650 tonnes. ''Ellen''s batteries were developed by

Leclanché Leclanché is a Swiss lithium-ion cells and related technologies Manufacturing, manufacturer founded in 1909. It currently employs over 350 staff and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol "LECN"). The company has its headquarters in ...

of Switzerland and are reported to be Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide. They are split between two battery rooms below deck and have a capacity of 4.3 MWh, larger than any other electric vessel at its time. She is one of the first such vessels to have no emergency generator. A charging arm on the shore ramp moves with the tide and allows battery recharging while loading. Charging time is about 20 minutes.

Service

''Ellen'' was built to operate the 22 nautical miles between the coastal city of

Fynshav Fynshav () is a small coastal town and ferry port, with a population of 786 (1 January 2024),Søby (Ærø) Søby is a port town at the northernmost tip of the southern Danish island of Ærø, 15 km from Ærøskøbing and 23 km from Marstal. Like the rest of the island, it is politically part of Ærø Municipality. Søby has an active sh ...

on the island of

. She replaced MF ''Skjoldnæs'' from 15 August 2019.

Gallery

File:E-ferry Ellen.3.JPG, E-ferry ''Ellen'' File:E-ferry Ellen 01.JPG, E-ferry ''Ellen'' File:E-ferry Ellen 2.JPG, Café File:E-ferry Ellen.6.JPG, 4.3 MWh battery system File:E-ferry Ellen 4.JPG, Electric motor File:E-ferry Ellen 3.JPG, Electric motor File:E-ferry Ellen 5.JPG, Technical control room

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellen Ferries of Denmark Electric boats 2016 ships Ships built in Szczecin