Right now, the world’s largest fully battery-electric ship sits in Hobart’s Derwent River, waiting to be put into service.
The 130-metre China Zorrilla, built by Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat, will carry more than 2,000 passengers and 225 vehicles between Argentina and Uruguay entirely on battery power. Four battery rooms on board house more than 5,000 lithium-ion battery units, part of what is believed to be the largest battery installation ever put on a ship.
Sitting onboard the vessel with Incat founder and chairman, Robert Clifford, explains how a family-owned Tasmanian company built a ship many in global shipping thought impossible and why battery-electric ferries are poised to reshape the future of maritime transport.
