Wärtsilä to work on a US project for development of fully electric high speed ferries

Finnish engineering firm Wärtsilä has agreed to work on a US project to build high speed fully electric ferries for San Francisco’s Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA).

PHOTO: Conceptual image of the fully electric ferry. Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä will provide its services for fleet electrification and systems integration.

The project is currently in its conceptual stage. Upon completion, WETA will initiate the primary construction phase of a multi-vessel programme.

The duo will build three smaller ferries with a capacity of about 150 passengers each and two larger vessels that will be able to carry about 300 passengers during the initial construction phase. Wärtsilä will install battery charging floats in these vessels.

Battery charging floats help in maintaining a consistent voltage charge in batteries pack.

Commercial operations of these vessels are expected to begin in 2025, Wärtsilä said.

The company will further “work within the WETA project team to finalise vessel and charging system concepts” as a part of this project, it said.

“We’re proud to operate the cleanest high-speed ferry fleet in the nation, but a zero-emission future for our system is within reach,” WETA’s executive director Seamus Murphy said.

This project is a part of WETA’s Rapid Electric Emission-Free (REEF) Ferry Program that works towards achieving a “phased decarbonisation of high-speed, high-capacity ferry service in the San Francisco Bay,” Wärtsilä said.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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