Evaluating the Economic Performance of a Pure Electric and Diesel Vessel: The Case of E-ferry in Denmark

Abstract

Europe is an extremely ferry-intensive area, with two main markets – the Northern Europe and the Baltic, and the Mediterranean; while EU ferries account for 35% of the world fleet. This research presents the E-ferry, the first pure electric ferry for medium range routes and likely the largest battery pack ever installed in an electric vessel, and evaluates its economic performance compared to an electric-diesel and a diesel vessel. Three E-ferry schemes are used in the evaluation: E-ferry prototype, E-ferry prototype excluding the development costs, and Series 3 E-ferry, for which we assume an increased production level. The evaluation focuses on the construction and operation costs of the vessels by utilizing real-world data that were collected during the evaluation period of the E-ferry, and complemented with data provided by the ferry operator. The evaluation shows that while the E-ferry construction cost is higher compared to the other two technologies, it contributes significantly to energy demand reduction. The E-ferry achieves cost parity with the diesel-based engine vessels between 5.2 and 3.6 years when considering different E-ferry and energy schemes, showing the potential to promote sustainable ferry operations in short and medium range ferry connections.