Folgefonn is a double-ended, 85-meter-long, ro-ro hybrid-powered passenger ferry servicing Jektevik-Hodnanes, Norway. It carries 76 cars and 300 passengers and is owned by Norled, which operates 45 car ferries across Norway.
The ferry was built as a diesel-powered ferry in 1998. Through a NCE Maritime CleanTech project it was retrofitted into a hybrid diesel/electric vessel in 2014, and since then it has been successfully tested for both hybrid and fully electric operation. Benefits of the project include considerable reductions in emission and increased operational efficiency. Project partners included Norled, Wärtsilä, Fjellstrand, Mecmar, Servogear, SKL and Apply TB.
In September 2017 the ferry was successfully tested with an automatic wireless induction charging system. MF Folgefonn is the first commercial ferry in the world operating with high power wireless charging capability for its batteries, and the successful project represents a notable breakthrough in the evolution of plug-in electrically operated vessels.
The wireless charging systems has been developed by Wärtsilä’s office in Stord. Other cluster partners involved in the project are Norled, Fjellstrand, Haugaland Kraft and Apply TB.
The project has been partly funded by Innovation Norway.
Energy-efficient
Reduction of emissions
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