Emissions-free pusher tug launched

Elektra is a 20m-long hydrogen-fuelled push boat with 2.5MWh of batteries, which have been delivered by the Dutch maritime battery supplier EST-Floattech, along with three maritime fuel cell systems of 100kW peak power each.

The fuel cell and battery powertrains are entirely independent systems, but can be used together to power the electric motors. EST-Floattech says. In battery mode, the tug can cover 40 miles (65km), the firm says.

The push boat will be operated by logistics firm BEHALA, for Germany’s inland waterways.

“The Elektra is a lighthouse project: It is the world’s first push boat in which battery-electric propulsion is combined with hydrogen and fuel cell technology,” said German Federal Minister Dr Volker Wissing, as the boat was named. “The entire project is a blueprint for the climate and environmentally friendly inland shipping, not only technically but also in terms of regulation – real pioneering work

As well as propelling the vessel, the system provides energy to control the temperature of the cabins and wheelhouse. Waste heat from the fuel cells is used in continuous water cooling and cabins are heated with a brine heat pump.

Elektra was built at the Hermann Barthel shipyard in Derben.