Corvus Energy to supply lithium-ion battery-based ESS for GVB’s all-electric ferries

Corvus Energy has been selected by Holland Ship Electric to supply lithium-ion battery-based energy storage systems (ESS) for five new all-electric ferries being built by Holland Shipyard Group for Amsterdam’s municipal public transport provider GVB.

The ferries will be equipped with air-cooled Corvus Orca Energy ESS that will supply electrical power to the ferry’s all-electric power and propulsion system.

All five new all-electric ferries are of the Ijveer design. Each ferry is 41 meters in length, 13.9 meters wide, can hold 20 cars, four trucks, or 400 passengers.

The first new ferry will arrive in the summer of 2021. After that, one will arrive every six months, until 2023.

The ferries will operate on three of the North Sea Canal routes, replacing the current fleet built in the 1930s.

The replacement of the ferries is in line with the sustainability goals set by GVB and the Municipality of Amsterdam to provide zero-emission public transport in the municipality.

The aim of GVB’s extensive newbuilding and retrofit program is to make its entire fleet hybrid or fully electric by 2025.

“GVB takes a clear path towards environmentally sustainable operations with these all-electric ferries,” says John van der Sluis, CEO at Holland Ship Electric.

“With Corvus as our supplier, we also want to expand our business further. With the new batteries from Corvus, we are able to equip ships with bigger power demands which mean that we expand the number of hybrid vessels.”

Corvus Energy’s ESSs have been selected for close to 100 hybrid and all-electric ferries globally.