One of Australia’s richest people, the software billionaire and Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, has urged Australia to follow the example of Norway and introduce electric ferries, starting with the iconic route from Circular Quay to Manly.
Farquhar, who co-founded Atlassian with the better known energy transition activist and investor Mike Cannon-Brookes, says that Sydney should follow Norway’s lead by converting the city’s ferry fleet, including the Manly Ferry, to electric models.
In a Tweet, Farquhar pointed to the newly launched Bastø Electric ferry, the first of three battery electric ferries that will operate on Norway’s busiest ferry route and the world largest operating on an all-electric drive.
“Would be great to see electric ferries on Sydney harbour as part of our plan to net zero emissions. Should the new Manly ferries be electric,” Farquhar asked.
The Basto ferry was constructed by the Turkish Sefine Shipyard, with battery and charging systems supplied by Siemens Energy. The ferry carries 4.3MWh of battery storage supplied by Siemens, and is able to rapidly recharge at ports, accepting a massive 9MW of recharging capacity.
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