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

  • August 3, 2015
    Electric buses: more billion dollar orders
    China will spend up to one trillion dollars on electric buses over the coming 15 years according to analysts IDTechEx. This will reduce the impact of over 22.5 trillion dollars from air pollution over that time, at least one percent of GDP. More insurrection will occur if corrective action is insufficient because hundreds of thousands are dying from traffic pollution and far more are suffering resultant serious disease. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), outdoor air pollution caused 3.7 m
  • August 25, 2016
    HERMES Study provides guidance for forward ITS thinking in Finland
    Having authored HERMES, a major study for the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication, Josef Czako talks to ITS International about his findings and lessons for other authorities. When CEOs of major automakers are predicting more change in the next five years than in the past 50, what is the role of national authorities considering the benefits of innovations in ITS?
  • April 23, 2012
    VW presents electric mobility research
    Volkswagen, in cooperation with six project partners and the German Ministry of the Environment, is presenting the current status of the ‘Fleet study in electric mobility’ that was initiated in July 2008. The primary goal of the project, which runs until June 2012, is to consistently utilise renewable energy sources for electrically powered vehicles. Within the framework of the fleet study, Volkswagen is using a total of 20 of the latest generation Golf Variant TwinDrive cars as research vehicles.
  • March 21, 2018
    Aimsun shows latest release of mobility software
    The Aimsun team is here at Intertraffic to showcase the latest release of Aimsun Next mobility modelling software, which includes options for modelling air pollutants. This new emissions model measures CO2 and NOx emissions from configurable fleets of European vehicles and will be extended to North American fleets in the future It is available in microscopic and mesoscopic simulations. The latest version of Aimsun Next incorporates the average-speed London Emissions Model (LEM), developed by Transport for