Rendering of the proposed electric ferry. Click to enlarge.

The ferry will achieve superior efficiency due to an optimized weight and hull shape and the electric propulsion equipment. CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 2000 tons and NO_x by 41.5 tons per year compared with an existing diesel ferry. The silent electric motors will also reduce emitted noise level and the new vessel will reduce wake waves right behind the ferry by 60-70% which allows navigation in the shallow Danish Natura areas. Charging power of up to 4 MW allows short port stays and efficient operation.

Layout under deck. Click to enlarge.

This project is a break-through in the recently introduced mobile storage business. The novel combination of a lithium-ion battery storage system and an electric drive train provided by Leclanché and Visedo has proven to be a true asset in the mobile system market, and not only in marine segment. We are extremely satisfied with our strategic alliance with Visedo.

—Martti Ukkonen, EVP of Mobile Storage Systems at Leclanché

Leclanché announced a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Visedo Oy, a Finnish company specialized in design and manufacturing of power electronics and drivetrain systems, in May under which the two would develop a joint BMS platform by merging Visedo’s battery control system and Leclanché’s battery management know-how. The integration of battery and traction control systems is intended to establish a full plug-and-play drivetrain system in the marketplace applicable to any electric bus or other EV solution.

The first joint project with Visedo’s drive train and Leclanché’s battery system will be an electric bus project for a European city. After successful installation and testing of the system, the end customer has committed to order the first fleet of 30 to 50 electrified bus drive trains including batteries starting in 2016, each with approx. 30-50 kWh resulting in a total amount of 1.0-2.5 MWh of batteries.

In addition to the transportation segment, Leclanché and Visedo are cooperating in electric drive- and propulsion projects for industrial machinery and the marine industry. Leclanché and Visedo have already been selected to be preferred suppliers of electric drive and propulsion projects in these areas, with batteries of more than 10 MWh in terms of battery capacity for the years 2016 - 2020.

Also in May, Leclanché S.A. entered into a supply agreement with Litarion GmbH, the newly wholly-owned subsidiary of Electrovaya, for the manufacture and commercialization of Lithium-ion storage systems incorporating electrodes from Litarion. (Earlier post.)

The market for marine electric vessels is expected to grow from $2.6 billion to $6.3 billion by 2023 due to both emission regulations and tremendous potential of fuel savings.