Zeabuz and Future Marine unite to develop autonomous electric ferries in Canada

Norway-based autonomous maritime technology company Zeabuz has partnered with Canada’s Future Marine to develop and pioneer autonomous electric ferries in Canada.

Zeabuz and Future Marine established their partnership with a letter of intent (LoI) to develop a 12-passenger autonomous electric ferry prototype, set to commence operations in 2025.

As explained, the ferry prototype will undergo rigorous trials in Canada, with the primary objective of achieving certification for autonomous operations.

For this project, Future Marine was appointed as the sole technology provider of autonomous solutions.

According to Zeabuz, this collaboration represents the first step toward a broader ambition – the deployment of autonomous electric ferries in urban centers across Canada, “transforming waterborne transport while reducing emissions and enhancing sustainability”. 

Future Marine’s CEO, Martin Stewart, said: “Future Marine aims to reduce GHG emissions and road congestion by operating accessible, high frequency and affordable autonomous passenger ferries and Zeabuz is our trusted technology partner to insure we provide safe, reliable service.” 

Øyvind Smogeli, CEO of Zeabuz, added: “This exciting opportunity with Future Marine marks an important milestone for Zeabuz, as it represents our entry into the North American market. Not only will the project showcase how our flexible and scalable autonomy solutions can be integrated into the new vessel design from Future Marine and help realize their ambitious pilot project. It also sets the stage for broader adoption of autonomous electric ferries across the region. We are excited to continue our cooperation with Future Marine towards the realization of widespread waterborne mobility.”  

In recent news, Zeabuz signed a LoI with Singapore’s green technology solutions provider Yinson GreenTech to work on introducing autonomous and remote-control capabilities into Yinson’s fleet of marine electric vessels.

Specifically, the collaboration will see Zeabuz integrate its hardware and proprietary software algorithms into Yinson GreenTech’s marinEV fleet of electric vessels and address the maritime industry’s long-term manpower challenges, in line with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Industry Transformation Map1, particularly its focus on digitalization.

Zeabuz is also a part of the four-member partnership which aims to develop a zero-emission, autonomous vessel for the city of Haugesund in Norway.

Norway’s Haugesund municipality and compatriot ferry operator Torghatten, zero-emission solutions supplier SEAM, in collaboration with Zeabuz, plan to initiate the route and test the technology starting in the autumn of 2025.