Brittany Ferries to build the world’s largest hybrid ferry

The ferry that changed it all.

A new beginning

Brittany Ferries has just unveiled plans for one of the most spectacular feats of maritime electric transport we’ve ever seen. It’s building a hybrid ferry to run between Saint-Malo in northern France and southern England, with an electric battery capacity of a whopping 11.5 megawatt-hours. That’s double the normal hybrid capacity in other hybrid ferries.

Decarbonization is the name of the game, and the move comes as the maritime industry looks to do its part to cut emissions. Decarbonization campaign group, Transport & Environment, has already proven that shipping fuels represent a significant source of oil and gas consumption in the EU. So, a few more of these, and we’ll be right on the way to a hybrid tomorrow.

Greener on the other side

The ship should be ready to take to the seas in only two years, with a second hybrid ferry following behind a little later, and this is a really refreshing change. A lot of the time – and for good reason – some hybrid projects can take decades to be completed, whereas sea passengers crossing the English Channel can look forward to this e-ferry by 2024.

And this is only the start. We’re seeing moves to low-carbon transport across all industries. Electric vehicles are obviously one very popular way of cutting your footprint, but there are some much larger projects afoot. European aviation giant Airbus is already putting the finishing touches on an electric micro-aircraft, and has already launched successful demonstrations of an all-electric demo jet, the E-Fan. With aviation being one of the most, if not the most, polluting transport out there, this is really welcome news.

Transportation firms are throwing everything at green tech – and we’re loving it.