The ferry operator Wasaline, has announced the modernization of the Aurora Bothnia, its flagship hybrid vessel, after applying a 10.4 MWh extension to the battery system. This retrofit will be completed by mid-autumn 2025.
Modernization of the Aurora Botnia with LFP batteries
The supplier chosen for this installation is AYK Energy, a company specializing in marine energy technologies. The lithium-ferrophosphate(LFP) batteries have high safety, reliability and durability specifications. In addition, it is expected to start operation in early 2026, making it the largest marine battery retrofit in the world so far.
With the introduction of the hybrid ferry ROPAX Aurora Bothnia in 2021, the company took a step towards decarbonizing its route between Vaasa(Finland) and Umeå(Sweden). Now, with this expansion in the battery system, it expects to reduce greenhouse gases by an additional 23%.
The Aurora Botnia vessel is equipped with dual-fuel engines, 2.2 MWh batteries and Azimuth electric thrusters. In addition, it uses liquefied natural gas (LNG)(LNG), biogas and electric power for propulsion. The planned expansion will reduce fossil energy consumption by around 10,000 MWh per year, in line with the European Union’s climate targets for 2030.
Expanding our battery capacity is an important step that allows us to make our ship even more sustainable and to allocate more capacity to batteries and biogas.
Our collaboration with energy clusters in Finland and the region makes innovative solutions like this possible, and we are proud to be a pioneer in the sector.
Peter Ståhlberg, CEO of Wasaline.
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Source and photo: Wasaline
