Ulstein delivers largest plug-in hybrid vessel

Norway’s Ulstein Verft has delivered the largest car and passenger ferry to incorporate batteries in a hybrid system built so far. The 120m-long Color Hybrid, with capacity for 2,000 passengers and 500 cars, is a ‘plug-in hybrid’ with 5-MW batteries that can be charged with sustainable shore power in Sandefjord in just one hour. More than two-thirds of the ship’s components and systems have been supplied by Norwegian companies.
The 65-tonne battery pack will enable the vessel to navigate silently in and out of the fjord with no harmful emissions of nitrogen or sulphur. The ship also has a heat reservoir of 5 MW which uses heat from both the wake and the exhaust for heating. Color Line CEO Trond Kleivdal, said: “The construction of the world’s largest plug-in hybrid vessel is in line with the company’s ambition for further development of sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for Norwegian shipping.”