The urban passenger vessel will reduce travel time, road traffic, and emissions in Haugesund, and confirm Norway’s position as a market leader in the industry.
The national pilot project receives 11 million NOKs from the regional Ulla-Førrefond, and will be led by Haugesund City Council.
– This is excellent news! We are very grateful that the Ulla Førre Fond considers the project an essential innovation for the autonomous passenger vessels of the future, mayor of Haugesund, Arne-Christian Mohn says.
Competes in a global race
Haugesund City Council will lead the groundbreaking project, joined by project partners Maritime CleanTech, Nordic Edge, SAMS, NORCE, Western Norway University of Applied Science and Karmsund Port Authority. Hyke will deliver a complete system for the vessel, and be responsible for delivering the vessel, the floating dock, and the charging facilities.
The race to get the first zero-emissions autonomous passenger vessel on the water is on! With this funding, we’ve got an excellent opportunity to come first. The project is based on a thorough preliminary project, concept and feasibility studies. The realization of this project will give the Norwegian Maritime Industry a great advantage. The potential export opportunities of emission-free, autonomous vessels like this, are huge globally, says Ada Jakobsen, CEO of Maritime CleanTech.
Groundbreaking technology
The fully electric vessel will be prepared for autonomous operation. It will carry around 50 passengers and a max speed of 15 knots. The Vessel will operate between Haugesund City Center, nearby islands and Northern Karmøy.
– We strongly wish to use the sea area between Haugesund and Karmøy for passenger transport. This will reduce traffic on busy roads in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. By using remote operation and autonomy, the vessel can be optimized both when it comes to operation and safety, Mohn says.
The autonomous solutions will be tested and verified at the nearby test area (Sletta, Smedasundet, and Karmsundet), which opened in 2021.
The aim is to have the vessel up and running, and ready for autonomous operation in 2025.
– This is a very exciting project. Maritime CleanTech previously gathered leading industry forces to start a battery-powered ferry revolution in Norway. Last year, the world’s first fully electric fast ferry started operation in the Stavanger area. We´re taking it a step further by connecting two future export opportunities for Norway; green shipping and autonomy, Jakobsen says.