With the additional battery for the ferry Aurora, the Finnish-Swedish ferry company aims to prepare its climate neutrality on the route between Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden. They are taking a significant step towards sustainable maritime transport by expanding the onboard battery capacity by an additional 10.4 MWh, it was stated.
The additional battery packs are to be provided by ship battery specialist AYK Energy in the fall of 2025 and then put into operation in January 2026. These are LFP-type batteries with lithium iron phosphate, which are known for their safety and long lifespan, according to the company. Peter Ståhlberg, Managing Director of Wasaline:
“We continuously work on establishing and expanding the
Vaasa - Umeå route as a green shipping corridor. In Europe, the demand for environmentally friendly transport and intermodal freight transport is increasing annually. This means that the entire transport chain can already be climate-neutral today. Expanding our battery capacity is an important step that allows us to further enhance our ship's sustainability and provide more capacity for batteries and biogas. Our collaboration with the energy clusters of Finland and the region makes innovative solutions like these possible, and we are proud to be a pioneer in the maritime economy.”
Further reduce emissionsWith this investment, Wasaline aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions on the route by 23 percent. Since the operation of the route
with the previous ferry Wasa Express in January 2013, emissions per trip have been reduced by 77 percent, which meets the EU's Fit for 55 goal of reducing emissions in the Union by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990.
In planning the current Wasaline ferry Aurora Botnia, the goal was set to achieve fully climate-neutral operation by 2030. The hybrid ferry is equipped with dual-fuel engines and 2.2-MWh batteries, among other things, and uses electrically operated azimuth thrusters. The shipping company expects that the battery upgrade could additionally reduce the consumption of fossil energy by about 10,000 MWh annually.
The RoPax hybrid ferry Aurora Botnia, built at the Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard, was commissioned
on August 28, 2021, is equipped with dual-fuel engines and batteries, and uses LNG, biogas, and battery packs for propulsion. Chris Kruger, founder of AYK Energy:
“This is the largest retrofit of a ship with batteries to date, and we are very proud to work with Wasaline as the provider of this advanced battery solution. Being recognized again as a reliable and cost-efficient supplier is extremely satisfying. This project is an example of AYK's vision to offer high-quality, safe, and cost-efficient solutions to meet our customers' needs for environmentally friendly transport. The transition to electric and hybrid ships is accelerating, and the partnership between AYK and Wasaline is an excellent example of how strategic collaboration
