Skip to main content

Asia's first hybrid electric ferry sets sail for cleaner sea travel

The Taiwanese harbour city of Kaohsiung has launched a new hybrid electric ferry, which it is claimed could revolutionise marine passenger transport across the region by curbing greenhouse and diesel emissions. The city recently re-launched the popular Cijian Island passenger ferry, retrofitted with a Visedo electric propulsion system, replacing the original diesel engine. If successful, the Kaohsiung City Government plans to retrofit the rest of its diesel fleet to help reduce pollution levels around Ta
February 3, 2017 Read time: 1 min
The Taiwanese harbour city of Kaohsiung has launched a new hybrid electric ferry, which it is claimed could revolutionise marine passenger transport across the region by curbing greenhouse and diesel emissions.

The city recently re-launched the popular Cijian Island passenger ferry, retrofitted with a Visedo electric propulsion system, replacing the original diesel engine. If successful, the Kaohsiung City Government plans to retrofit the rest of its diesel fleet to help reduce pollution levels around Taiwan’s largest harbour.

Finnish company Visedo, which manufactures electric drivetrains for marine vessels, commercial vehicles and heavy duty applications, retrofitted the 100-tonne, 23m-long vessel with an electric system to replace the original 300HP diesel engine. The powertrain was designed to ensure pure electric cruising for half the ferry’s operation time and, with fast shore charging, this pure electric percentage can be higher.

Related Content

  • November 2, 2018
    Port Authority of New York to go all-electric
    A leading US public transportation agency has become the first in the country to embrace the Paris Climate Agreement, and will introduce an all-electric airport shuttle bus fleet. The voluntary Paris deal is aimed at curbing global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius. As part of a commitment to achieving this, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it will aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 35% by 2025 – and 80% by 2050. Its shuttle fleet will consist of 36 electric vehicl
  • June 8, 2015
    ITS solutions to keep truck traffic moving
    David Crawford reviews freight management initiatives. Managing truck traffic to minimise its environmental impacts, without adversely impacting on its critical economic role, continues to drive ITS-based solutions in both urban and interurban contexts.
  • September 2, 2013
    Zero emission delivery vehicle project begins in Houston
    The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) has teamed up with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation to reduce vehicle emissions from delivery trucks in the region. As part of a US Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored effort, local fleets will replace existing diesel delivery vehicles with thirty all-electric medium and heavy-duty Smith Newton trucks for daily operations in the Houston-Galveston area.
  • June 5, 2019
    Heavy duty hybrids to go zero-emission in cities, says TNO
    Heavy duty hybrid vehicles in future may need to switch to zero emissions when entering a city - and be competitive in their total cost of ownership. Speaking at this week’s ITS European Congress in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Steven Wilkins, senior research scientist at TNO, discussed the ORCA (optimised real-world cost-competitive modular hybrid architecture for heavy duty vehicles) project’s objectives of matching the total cost of ownership with efficiency. “Connected to that is downsizing the engine