During the golden age for ferries in the 1800s, steamboats dotted the shorelines of coastal cities to transport passengers. Then cars and trains took over.
Now, driven by congestion and the revitalization of urban waterfronts, ferries are making a comeback.
“We see it as a blue superhighway that is still untapped,” said Geoff Symonds, chief operating officer of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, a ferry network based in London.
Ferry commuting scores higher on customer satisfaction surveys than other modes of public transit, offering amenities like ample seating, space for bikes and breathtaking skyline views, and it was the first to return to prepandemic ridership levels in cities like New York, San Francisco, Stockholm and Auckland, New Zealand.
What operators struggle to offer, however, is a fast, sustainable mode of transit. “Commuters want speed,” said Jakob Kuttenkeuler, a professor of naval architecture at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
Over the last few months, however, Stockholm has been testing a vessel that may solve that problem: the world’s first electric hydrofoil ferry.
Developed by a Swedish start-up, Candela, a 30-seat, battery-driven vessel known as the P-12 has almost halved the commute time of a conventional diesel ferry — to 30 minutes — across an 11-mile stretch between the island of Ekero and City Hall in the center of Stockholm.
At the same time, the P-12 emits 95 percent less emissions than the diesel ferry and uses 80 percent less energy, according to SL, the Stockholm public transport authority.
Hydrofoil technology is catching on in other areas, too, including the world of sports. On Wednesday, backers of an electric race boat championship known as E1 showed off their hydrofoil technology on the River Thames in London to promote the second season of the series. One of the hydrofoils’ selling points is protecting urban waters and coastal areas.
Supporters say their sustainability and efficiency will win over commuters.
Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s founder and chief executive, said the realization, 11 years ago, that his speedboat guzzled 15 times as much fuel as his car had set him on a course to develop an energy-efficient maritime solution.
“High-speed passenger ferries and boats are the least fuel-efficient mode of transit in the world because almost all energy is used to push away the water,” he said. “If you convert to electric, you need massive amounts of batteries, which are expensive and have limited range. The only way to go far and fast on the same battery is when you hydrofoil.”
Hydrofoils are the winglike structures mounted under a boat’s hull to lift the craft above the water as it gains speed, much as airplane wings do through the air. The technique drastically reduces drag from water friction and allows for faster, more energy-efficient travel.
Mr. Kuttenkeuler, who invented the Efoil, an electric hydrofoil board that glides above the water’s surface, said hydrofoil technology was a common marine transport system in the 1980s but was phased out because of the high operational costs.
Advancements in digitalization, composite materials and sensor technology have contributed to its comeback, he added. “It’s perfect timing with the push for electrification.”
In addition to the environmental benefits, the electric hydrofoil has several other advantages. The batteries are relatively small, so they do not require massive charging infrastructure. They do not generate waves that erode the shoreline or wreak havoc for windsurfers and moored boats in their wake. And because they are kept level by a computer and soar over the waves, they do not cause seasickness.
After launching the first leisure hydrofoils in 2019 and 2022, Candela focused on a larger version, the P-12, for public transit. Mr. Hasselskog estimates that the market for the ferry will be almost $8 billion a year, with Asia the largest potential market, followed by Europe and North America.
So far, Mumbai, India, has the most ambitious plans for the P-12. JalVimana, the local shuttle operator, will begin with 11 ferries on popular tourist routes from the Gateway of India to Alibag and Elephanta Island. A third route will connect the airport with the center of Mumbai, cutting travel time from 90 minutes by car to less than 30 minutes on the water.
“There is vast potential to transform the city’s waterways into high-speed arteries for clean, efficient transport on ferries like the P-12,” Nitesh Rane, the minister for fisheries and ports in India’s Maharashtra State, said.
Operators in more sparsely populated places like Norway are also looking at the hydrofoil. If the P-12 can handle rougher seas, said Erlend Solem, green energy manager at the public transport operator Boreal Norge, they will use it to test a semiautonomous service for about 100 commuters on a 14-mile trip from the island of Frosta to Trondheim, a stretch otherwise served by a large ferry “suited to sea conditions but not the market needs.”
The beauty of having smaller vessels serve less dense regions like the Stockholm archipelago is that you can have more of them, Mr. Hasselskog said. “An Uber in a public transportation setting would make it easier to live out there and lower costs for taxpayers,” he added.
Operators in the United States are also showing an interest in hydrofoil.
Ryan Meinzer, an entrepreneur in California, hopes to reduce congestion along Lake Tahoe by shuttling skiers across the lake in a P-12 by next year.
But to cater to the U.S. market, builders must comply with the Jones Act, which requires ships that transport goods, including passengers, to be built in the United States.
“We are investigating where to locate the plant now,” Mr. Hasselskog said.
Artemis Technologies, an electric hydrofoil ferry builder in Belfast, Ireland, plans to team up with Delta Marine, a Seattle shipyard, to build electric hydrofoil ferries for the Puget Sound, said David Tyler, a co-founder of Artemis.
Artemis is working on a 150-passenger vessel, the EF-24, to launch this year on a demonstration route between Belfast and Bangor, Ireland. While the boat is 50 percent more expensive than a diesel boat, Mr. Tyler said, the fuel cost savings over its lifetime could be $27 million, compared with a diesel boat.
“We’re at a sea change when it comes to ferry technology,” said Seamus Murphy, executive director of San Francisco Bay Ferry, which boasts the cleanest fleet in the United States from an emissions standpoint and has ambitions to be the first fossil-free operator there.
To that end, San Francisco Bay Ferry has ordered five vessels inspired by Medstraum, the world’s first battery-driven fast ferry. Half the expense will be used to install landside charging infrastructure, Mr. Murphy said.
San Francisco Bay Ferry also operates a hydrogen fuel cell electric ferry and is looking into sourcing green hydrogen for future vessels on longer routes. But the supply chain holds some challenges, like finding a local supply of green hydrogen, he said.
“The solution may be making ferries more energy efficient, period,” Mr. Murphy said.
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