Ampereship converts first diesel ferry to electric

Uetliberg set sail on her maiden electric voyage on Lake Zurich, in Switzerland, and is now the largest battery-powered vessel in the country, Ampereship says.

Ferry owner Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) commissioned the retrofit, which included an extensive overhaul of the ferry, with new steel sections manufactured, a newly shaped bulbous bow, extended stern and additional bulkheads.

Ampereship, which is based in Stralsund, says its engineers planned and designed the electric equipment ‘from automation and control technology to electric motors and battery packs’, installing 7,200 battery cells to give an energy output of 3.6MWh.

The company says there are also plans to convert two other identical ZSG passenger ships, Albis and Pfannenstiel, to electric propulsion by 2027, and it will also carry out this work.

“With the ZSG contract, we are expanding our maritime e-mobility business to existing ships,” said Ingo Schillinger, Business Unit manager at Ampereship. “The maiden voyage of the fully electric passenger ship Uetliberg shows that it is now possible to retrofit a passenger ship that has been in service for years with a transport capacity of up to 300 people with a promising alternative electric drive system.”

Ampereship is doing a lot in the electric conversion space – with a focus on converting inland waterway vessels to not just electric, but hybrid propulsion systems.

“The fleet of inland passenger ships and ferries offers considerable potential for effectively reducing pollutant emissions on lakes and rivers by converting conventional propulsion systems to alternative technologies,” said Schillinger.

The company also uses solar energy to charge the batteries on board.