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The Guardian article glosses over a few things that are actually interesting about this ship: - It's made out of aluminum instead of steel. The resulting weigh
by jillesvangurp 10mo ago
The Guardian article glosses over a few things that are actually interesting about this ship:
- It's made out of aluminum instead of steel. The resulting weight savings make it a bit more efficient. That's something this shipping yard specializes in.
- Because it is going to run in shallow water on the river Plate, it doesn't actually have propellers but a water jet propulsion system.
Fully charged did a video on the construction of this ship early last year: https://fullycharged.show/episodes/electric-ferry-the-largest-electric-vehicle-in-the-world/ https://fullycharged.show/episodes/electric-ferry-the-larges...
The project of getting this ship from Tasmania to South America is also going to be interesting as well. It can't do it under its own power; it's designed for a ~50km crossing, not a trans Pacific/Atlantic journey. At the time, they were thinking tug boats.
- tedk-42 10mo agoArticle quotes `40 megawatt-hours of installed capacity.` - Surely this can get you pretty far from Tasmania to South America.
- chii 10mo agoapparently, 40MWh of capacity is enough to travel 40 nautical miles. The distance between Tasmania and South America is around 6,500–7,500 nautical miles.
- amelius 10mo agoFor comparison, a wide body airliner needs ~0.15MWh to travel 1 nautical mile.
- eesmith 10mo agoA wide body airliner doesn't carry "up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles".
- verandaguy 10mo agoIt also does so in a medium where the main drag force is induced by air rather than water, which is probably a comparably significant factor
- potato3732842 10mo agoIt also needs to beat up that air enough to make the resultant forces overcome gravity acting on the airliner whereas the ship just gets to float there. Apples to orages.
- eesmith 10mo agoYup. Or to structure it a the earlier comment: for comparison, it takes me about 0.000065 MWh to cycle 1 nautical mile. That's a couple of apples.
- nandomrumber 10mo agoYou also aren’t doing so while carrying 2100 passengers sms 225 cars, I imagine.
- nineteen999 10mo agoPlus they are going to get very waterlogged cycling that nautical mile.
- nandomrumber 10mo agoSome dedicated cyclists will cycle in any weather.
- eesmith 10mo agoAnd underwater. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_cycling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_cycling
- rcxdude 10mo agoI would be extremely surprised if the ship were designed to use 100% of its capacity in one way of its intended route.
- jacquesm 10mo agoThe drag on a vessel is orders of magnitude larger than the drag on a car.
- merek 10mo agoThanks for the video link, it's way more informative than the original article.
- wepple 10mo agoThe relocation was the big question on my mind. The other is: when will they charge? Does this ship not run at night?
- pjc50 10mo agoAlso: installing the charging infrastructure. Special docking requirements for the non electric Spirit Of Tasmania were a big problem.
- robin_reala 10mo agoIf it’s anything like the electric ferries that cross the Öresund beween Helsingborg and Helsingør, they grab charge while they’re unloading and loading at each terminal: Each trip consumes approximately 1,175 kWh, which is nearly the same amount a residential home consumes in a month. In each port is a tower with a robot arm that connects the charging cable automatically every time the ship comes to the dock. The system charges 10.5 kV, 600Amp and 10.5MW. The batteries have a total capacity of 4,160 kWh, which means that we always have a surplus of electricity if for some reason we cannot load during a stop or if the transit takes more time than usual. In Helsingör the ferries charge for approx. 6 minutes and in Helsingborg the ferries charge for approx. 9 minutes. This is enough to suffice for the journey across the strait.[1] Side note: you can also charge your car on board from the boat’s batteries. [1] https://www.oresundslinjen.com/about-us/sustainability https://www.oresundslinjen.com/about-us/sustainability
- leoh 10mo ago10.5MW on demand is wild
- jasonwatkinspdx 10mo agoSo in the Fully Charged video about this ship, the shipyard CEO just casually mentions the customer is looking at having 40 MW at each end.
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- mk_stjames 10mo agoI'd wager they will use what is known as a 'Float-on/float-off' ship for transport... it's rather common actually- It's a ship with a very low deck line that partially submerges itself, with the center of the deck underwater deep enough so the other vessel can 'float on' over the deck. They they pump the water back out, raising the deck above water and the boat on top it just rests flat. They do this for some oil rigs as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy-lift_ship#Semi-submersible_ships https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy-lift_ship#Semi-submersib...
- 3eb7988a1663 10mo agoThat first image on the page is incredible.
- KellyCriterion 10mo agoyeah, I can spot Elisons new Yacht to be delivered thered :-D
- eulgro 10mo agoPicture: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqPA35EhxEmBZGCh9qonaW0RG2voIVlOeU54UoZgt9_olyPb_CvqHZwitADYmNfCDQSIWo90CUp4j9a5Ln8-yqa38aO6dTlMYF5Ybvj-kNlpM3IRzQJEyY1d6B_yRHsylGA18XiHSxuT-nGUdoANAsA8GOW9oTM4vD2aj-vqbhIJoPzjVIZEnt1JYuRc/w512-h640/453508411_945872114220236_239532109564474204_n.jpg https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh...
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- SideburnsOfDoom 10mo ago> The project of getting this ship from Tasmania to South America is also going to be interesting as well. Indeed. As I remarked last time (1) "it's long distance and can be rough seas" They get to pick a good time of year, but either route goes past places known for storms and shipwrecks in the winter (June to September). Would you choose to go via Cape Agulhas or around Cape Horn? It would be annoying to be ready to deliver the ship, but due to schedule over-runs, to have to wait 4 months for the weather to improve. 1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45844832 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45844832
- lostlogin 10mo agoI wonder if they could load batteries into it instead of cars and passengers? I assume it’s too hard to be worthwhile, and probably still wouldn’t get the range.
- dzhiurgis 10mo agoI think that makes a ton of sense, esp since you can retrofit diesel-electric ferries. Skips expensive DC charging infrastructure, but does require to buy two batteries which can get expensive. Over time vpp / market arbitrage can pay for battery itself tho. Also sacrifices some of the cargo capacity. I.e. for wellington - picton that’s about 4 rail cars or 6 semi trailers. Edit: also smaller turnaround time.
- lostlogin 10mo agoFor one long haul trip at the start of its life, a generator might be an option too. New Zealand should we well suited to electrifying everything, with a lot of good energy sources. I can’t see the current government supporting anything EV, particularly across the Cook Strait, given the ferry fiasco to date.
- lostlogin 10mo agoFor one long haul trip at the start of its life, a generator might be an option too. New Zealand should we well suited to electric ferries, with a lot of good energy sources. I can’t see the current government supporting anything EV, particularly across the Cook Strait, given the ferry fiasco to date.
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- seg_lol 10mo agoThrow some big kites on it and sail it, use the jet propulsion just for vector control.
- lazylizard 10mo agobut people who take ferry rides want to know roughly when they'll reach the other side?
- seg_lol 10mo agoJust to get the ferry from Tasmania to South America.
- lazylizard 10mo agoi realise there are plenty of alu boats on the water. but im still not quite sure how they keep the aluminium away from iron in practice.