The New Zealand capital of Wellington is on track to become the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to boast its own locally-designed and made zero-emissions electric ferry.
Not content with their country proposing a Clean Car bill and becoming one of the first countries worldwide to enshrine a commitment to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement in a carbon bill, a team of Wellington boat builders are now focussed on bringing carbon-free transport to the water by mid-2020.
Under the moniker Wellington Electric Boat Building Company, they are currently the putting finishing touches to the hulls of a new electric catamaran ferry contracted for the Wellington Harbour ferry service East by West Ferries.
Once this initial stage is all done and dusted, the team plans to take the hulls to the Seaview Marina in Wellington where the next stage of the project will begin.
By mid-2020, it is hoped that the 19m long and 7m wide ferry, which will be powered by two electric motors offering a top speed of 20 knots, will be ready to carry a maximum of 135 passengers across Wellington Harbour six times a day.
To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…
