A zero-emission electric cruise ship with retractable sails covered in solar panels has been revealed by adventure cruise line Hurtigruten Norway, and it has estimated that the vessel will be ready to set sail in 2030.
The company currently has a fleet of eight ships, each with a capacity of 500 passengers, traveling along the Norwegian coast from Oslo to the Arctic Circle. Although it is a relatively small company, its CEO, Hedda Felin, hopes that this innovation “can inspire the entire shipping industry.”
The project, named ‘Sea Zero’, was first announced in March 2022 and since then, Hurtigruten Norway, together with 12 of its shipping partners and the Norwegian-based research institute SINTEF, has been exploring technological solutions that could help achieve emission-free sea voyages.
The resulting design will be powered primarily by 60 megawatt batteries that can be charged in port with clean energy, as renewables account for 98% of Norway’s electricity system. Gerry Larsson-Fedde, Hurtigruten Norway’s SVP of marine operations, who came up with the idea for a zero-emission ship, estimates that the batteries will have a range of 300 to 350 nautical miles, meaning that during a round trip 11 days, a battery pack would have to be charged about seven or eight times.
To reduce reliance on batteries, when it’s windy, three retractable sails – or ‘wings’ – will rise from the deck, reaching a maximum height of 50 metres. They can be adjusted independently, with the possibility of lowering their height so the boat can pass under bridges or changing their angle to “catch” more wind, explains Larsson-Fedde. He adds that the sails will be covered by a total of 1,500 square meters of solar panels that will generate energy to charge the batteries while sailing.
The ship will be equipped with 270 cabins to accommodate 500 guests and 99 crew, and its streamlined shape will result in reduced air resistance, helping to further reduce energy use. On board, guests will be challenged to minimize their own climate impact through an interactive mobile app that tracks their personal water and energy consumption.
Greener shipping
The shipping industry accounts for about 3% of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN agency that regulates global shipping. In 2018, the IMO introduced a target to cut industry greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050.
This has led to a new wave of eco-friendly sailing vessel designs, from the transatlantic carrier Oceanbird and various folding-sail freighters, to Oceanco’s Black Pearl superyacht and the Chantiers de Atlanique folding solid-sail cruise ship. But most of them will also be based on engines that will use fossil fuels. Larsson-Fedde notes that while Hurtigruten Norway’s plan will have a backup engine for safety reasons, it will utilize green fuels such as ammonia, methanol or biofuels.
Hurtigruten Norway has long promoted sustainable shipping. In 2019, it launched the world’s first hybrid cruise ship with battery support and is currently in the process of converting the rest of its fleet to hybrid battery.
Over the next two years, Hurtigruten Norway will test its proposed technologies before finalizing the design in 2026 and aims to start production at the yard in 2027. The first vessel is due to sail in Norwegian waters in 2030. After that, the company hopes to gradually transform its entire fleet into zero-emission vessels.
