Scandlines’ fully electric ferry launched in Turkey

November 27, 2023, by Jasmina Ovcina Mandra

Ferry operator Scandlines revealed that its new zero direct emissions freight ferry was launched from the Turkish Cemre Shipyard over the weekend.

The 100 percent electric freight ferry is set to be named Futura at a naming ceremony in connection with its deployment on the Fehmarn Belt between Germany and Denmark in 2024.

The launching took place on 25 November when the hull was sent from the slipway into the sea.

At 10:00, the iron posts holding the hull on the slipway were welded off, allowing the ferry to slide down the slipway and into the sea, where tugboats were waiting to pull it into place at the outfitting quay. The ship is now moored at the outfitting quay, where much of the remaining work will be carried out.

“She glided smoothly in the water – it was beautiful, quiet and calm, just as we had dreamed it would be,” explains Scandlines Coo Michael Guldmann Petersen.

The ferry will be docked again before delivery, among other things to be painted.

E/V Futura will have the world’s largest lithium-ion battery bank to date, according to Scandlines, with a power of 10 MWh. The company said that the battery’s charging time in port would be 12 minutes as of 2025.

“With Futura, we make it possible to travel without any direct emissions, as the ferry runs entirely on electricity. At the same time, we have a sharp focus on making the entire journey worth the time – so we have also worked to make the experience on board even better,” says Scandlines CEO Carsten Nørland.

Carsten Nørland also emphasized that Scandlines definitely plans to keep on sailing for many years even after the opening of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link. The Fehmarn Belt fixed link or Fehmarn Belt tunnel is an under-construction immersed tunnel, which will connect Puttgarden in Germany to Rødby in Denmark. When completed in 2029, the journey between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden will take seven minutes by train and 10 minutes by car, according to its developers.

Denmark is preparing the rail connections to and from the tunnel for electric trains that will run up to 200 km per hour.

Some of the benefits of the link include reducing CO2 emissions and freeing up capacity on roads and railways, while freight transport switches from lorries to electric trains.

“Of course we will. We believe in a future for ferries. We invest in a multi-million euro electric ferry, because we have a responsibility to the world around us and because we are convinced that there is a need for journeys that don’t just take place behind the wheel on the motorway. This applies to freight drivers, families on holiday and those who just want to go border shopping,” Nørland says.

Vessel specifications: