Future projects for ocean sailing.

Cruise company Hurtigruten Norway on Wednesday revealed plans for a zero-emission electric cruise ship with retractable sails covered in solar panels, set to sail in 2030.

The company currently has a fleet of eight ships, each with a capacity of 500 passengers, which stretch the Norwegian coast from Oslo to the Arctic Circle. Although it is a relatively young company, its CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Hedda Filin, hopes that this innovation “can inspire the entire marine industry.”

The project, called “Sea Zero”, was initially announced in March 2022. Since then, Hurtigruten Norway, together with 12 maritime partners and the Norway-based research institute SINTEF, has been exploring technological solutions that can help achieve zero-emissions. Free sea travel.

The resulting project will run mostly on 60 megawatt batteries that can be charged at the port with clean energy, as renewable energy accounts for 98% of Norway’s electricity system. Jerry Larsson-Fide, senior vice president of marine operations at Hurtigruten Norway, who came up with the idea of ​​a zero-emissions ship, estimates that the batteries will have a range of 300 to 350 nautical miles, which means that during an 11-day round-trip voyage, a ship would have to Ocean loaded about seven or eight times.

To reduce dependence on the battery, when the wind picks up, three retractable sails – or wings – will come out of the deck, reaching a maximum height of 50 metres. They can adapt independently, Larsson-Fedde explains, shrinking to fit under bridges or changing their angle to capture maximum wind. Adding that the sails will be covered by a total of 1,500 square meters of solar panels, which will generate power to recharge the batteries during navigation – and battery levels will be displayed on the side of the ship.

“In Norway, although it is sometimes dark in winter, we still have sunshine in the south. And we have sun 24 hours a day in summer. In addition to everything else, the midnight sun will give us energy, ”he says.

The ship will have 270 cabins for 500 guests and 99 crew members, and its aerodynamic shape will reduce air resistance, helping to reduce energy consumption even further. On board, guests will be invited to reduce their impact on the climate through an interactive mobile application that monitors their personal water and energy consumption.

“We want to make them more aware of how much energy they expend if they spend an extra 10 minutes in the bathroom or if the air conditioning is on full blast,” says Larsson-Fedde.

Greener navigation

The shipping sector is responsible for about 3% of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations body that regulates shipping around the world. In 2018, the International Maritime Organization introduced a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the sector by at least half by 2050.

This has led to a new wave of environmentally friendly sailing vessel designs, from the ocean liner Oceanbird and various cargo ships with retractable sails, to Oceanco’s Black Pearl luxury yacht and the Chantiers de Atlanique cruise ship with rigid retractable sails. But most of these ships also rely on fossil fuel engines. Larsson-Fedde notes that although the Hurtigruten Norway design will have a spare engine for safety reasons, it will run on environmentally friendly fuels such as ammonia, methanol or biofuels.

Hurtigruten Norway has long promoted sustainable shipping. In 2019, it launched the world’s first battery-powered hybrid cruise ship, and is currently converting the rest of its expedition fleet to battery-hybrid.

“We depend on the ocean and the environment. This is our product: clean oceans, clean ports, local suppliers,” says Filin. “We want to be a pioneer in the field of sustainability, because we believe that our sector is too slow and not ambitious enough.”

Over the next two years, Hurtigruten Norway will test the proposed technologies before completing the project in 2026, and aims to start production in shipyards in 2027. The first ship is expected to enter Norwegian waters in 2030. After that, the company expects to gradually transform its fleet to zero-emission vessels.