Hybrid rescue boat delivered to City of Kiel
A hybrid fire-fighting and rescue vessel has been delivered to the City of Kiel Fire Department by Finnish shipyard Kewatec.
The vessel has been equipped with a 48V electric drive by Ottobrunn, Munich-based Molabo, which makes high-performance drives for a wide range of applications.
It has an advanced hybrid waterjet propulsion system using Molabo’s Aries i50 electric motors, a spokesperson said.
“The newly built Rescue 1500 is based on Kewatec’s e-FiFi 1470 design but is powered by two 50kW electric drives running on Molabo’s patented 48-volt technology and two jet drives in addition to its standard combustion engines, offering a powerful and safe platform for rescue operations,” says a statement.
“The fire department’s new boat will be used for fire-fighting, rescue services, disaster response and civil protection in the Kiel Canal, Kiel Fjord, and up to 10 nautical miles off the coast of Germany.”
Safe to touch, the drive system does not need highly trained personnel to operate it, and ’offers significant safety advantages’ compared to conventional high voltage systems.
Electric jet drives powered by twin Molabo Aries i50 motors are paired with conventional combustion engines and the vessel can be operated in diesel, electric or boost modes.
In boost mode, combining both the electric and combustion drivetrains can increase the vessel’s speed by up to 3.5 knots for faster response times, the statement said.
“Safety is paramount to Molabo – that’s why we developed the world’s first safe-to-touch high-performance electric drive,” said COO Adrian Patzak. “Now the brave firefighters of Kiel have a state-of-the-art and powerful new tool to help keep the people and waterways of Kiel safe, clean and protected. We’re proud to be a part of it.“
The vessel is 16.05m x 4.79m and uses two Doen DJ172-HE 432 mm axial build with hybrid PTI waterjets and two Volvo D13-700 engines.
