In 2019 cluster partner Selfa Arctic started working on their second commercial, hybrid-electric fishing vessel called “Sundsbøen” and will be operated by LofotFishing. A combination of diesel engines and batteries will reduce the consumption of fossile fuels by 50 per cent and reduce the number of engine operation hours by 50 to 80 per cent.

“Sundsbøen” will be approximately 12 meters long and 4,3 meters wide. The storage room will be 20 cubic metres and the available working space on deck 24 square metres.

A big challenge for electric fishing vessels are costs, but the newbuild will be cheaper than the world´s first commercial electric-hybrid fishing vessel, Selfa Elmax 1099, or “Karoline” (picture). It was delivered by Selfa Arctic to operator Øra AS in 2015. To provide electric power a Corvus Energy developed lithium polymer Energy Storage System (ESS) has been integrated with a Siemens propulsion system on board this vessel.

The 11 metre electric vessel “Karoline” have a 195 kWh ESS consisting of 30 Corvus AT6500 lithium polymer battery modules. The fishing boat, designed to operate entirely on battery power over a planned ten hour working day, will also have a small 50 kW auxiliary generator and can be charged overnight by plugging into the electrical grid.