Electrification and Hybridization of Ferries: State of The Art and Case Study

Zero-emission maritime transportation is the ultimate goal of the shipping industry. In this aim, new regulations lead to technical constraints which lead the naval industry toward efficient and environmentally friendly power and propulsion systems. Especially, minimizing the impacts of the ships operating in the coastal, harbor, or urban areas is a key feature considering environmental and human health concerns. Shortly, ferries or passenger ships operating in these areas will face reaching zero-emission constraints. Using electricity as a main vector of energy is one of the most promising ways to reach these goals. In particular, full electric or hybrid solution using multi-source energy systems appears to be a very relevant solution. This chapter is devoted to the study of the electrification and hybridization of ferries and passenger ships operating in coastal and urban areas. The first part of the chapter aims to review the fully electric and hybrid propulsion topologies and power management strategies that can be used for ferries and passenger ships operating in coastal or urban areas. Several relevant examples of vessels using this kind of technology are presented. Particular focus will be on full electric solutions based on batteries/fuel cells/supercapacitors as main energy sources and possible energy management strategies. In the second part of the chapter, a case study will be presented based on the specifications and mission profile of the Istanbul Ferries crosses the Bosporus straight. Several possible technical solutions are studied by giving mathematical models of the equipment respecting the state of the art in the first part.