Tourist vessels have zero-emission makeover

Maid of the Mist’s latest generation vessels, used for transporting visitors to Niagara Falls, are welded aluminium catamarans each featuring a pair of lithium-ion battery packs with a total capacity of 316kWh, split evenly between two catamaran hulls. The battery packs power twin electric propulsion motors capable of 400kW output. The power setup is controlled by ABB’s integrated Power and Energy Management System (PEMS), which will optimise the energy use onboard.

“We calculated some savings compared to fuel costs in the move to electric, but this was not the primary motivation,” says Maid of the Mist CEO, Christopher Glynn. “More significantly, there is a great interest in sustainability today, including low or no emissions. Once we decided to make the shift to all-electric, I was confident that our team had made the right call.”

Electric propulsion enables quieter operations and as a bonus, the electricity is generated from the Niagara River.

The vessels will be charged using hydropower between every trip while passengers disembark and board. This shoreside charging will only take seven minutes.

ABB will supply switchboards, drives and the integrated control system, as well as the ABB Ability Marine Remote Diagnostic System for remote equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance.

ABB will be exhibiting at Seawork 2020 on stand PG123 with some digital displays related to the Maid of the Mist project.

By Rebecca Jeffrey