- Norled has a history that goes back 163 years and has always been at the forefront of innovation and new technology. We have succeeded with a lot, and in recent years, Norled's battery-ferry “MF Ampere” has been one of the industry's most significant innovations with large positive ripple effects both for the environment and operating costs, says Deputy CEO Lars Jacob Engelsen in Norled.
Norled is a wholly-owned Norwegian company, and one of the country's largest ferry operators and ranked number 4 within the world’s express boat operators.
On Monday, in a symposium with 150 Norwegian and 500 Indian business leaders, Engelsen talked about how Norled, through continuous innovation in collaboration with strong Norwegian and foreign technology partners, a strong Norwegian shipbuilding industry and forward-looking Norwegian authorities, has succeeded in creating a basis for a considerably greener industry within the ferries and express boats industries.
- “MF Ampere” is seen by many as the symbol of a successful zero-emission ferry industry and has received considerable international attention since its launch in 2015. By 2022, the battery technology that Ampere was piloting will be implemented in 72 ferries in Norway. Norled wants to be a driving force for the use of green technology, and it is with great pleasure that we are given the opportunity to share the experiences and learning points we have gained with authorities and businesses in India, Engelsen says.
While Norway has long traditions as a maritime nation, India has more limited history and experience in terms of shipping, fishing and farming as well as renewable energy and marine biotechnology. How India can better exploit and preserve sea values is therefore a topic during the official visit. India has started a comprehensive and long-term investment program - Sagarmala - to build ports and facilitate the use of both the coast and its large "waterways" (rivers) for the transportation of people, cars and cargo. In addition to getting traffic away from congested roads, ferry crossing of "fjords" and shuttle service by boat around coastal towns can significantly shorten travel time.
- Norled wants to be a driving force so that Norway could be a world leader as a maritime nation, especially in the field of green technology at sea, Engelsen says.
He says that Norled is currently starting a development project involving the development and construction of the world's first hydrogen-electric ferry. The ferry will be put in service in 2021 in Rogaland, Norway.
- Hydrogen ferries will be developed and open up for traffic over longer distances. Distances where battery technology is unsuitable today, and this new hydrogen ferry might be a new, green success formula from the Norwegian maritime sector.
Express boats at short distances can already be made green today based on existing battery technology. For express boats for longer distances, Norled participates in a consortium that explores whether Hydrogen can also contribute to more environmentally friendly express boats. Here, Norled collaborates with four technology partners and the authorities in the Zero Emission Fast Ferry concept (ZeFF), Engelsen says.
Together with a few other selected companies, Norled is also invited to participate in the Norwegian and Indian government's "Indo-Norwegian task force on Blue economy" in Delhi. Here, Norled will tell, among other things, how the Norwegian tender model for ferries and the form of cooperation between public and private actors has been very successful both for improving customer service and for obtaining environmentally friendly solutions.
- It is thus a model that can safely be used as a starting point for getting greener and more sustainable shipping internationally, Engelsen says.
For more information contact:
Lars Jacob Engelsen, Deputy CEO of Norled by mail: lars.jacob.engelsen@norled.no, or telephone: + 47 957 96 917
Kjell Ove Hatlem, Project manager for international transport in Norled by e-mail: kjell.ove.hatlem@norled.no or phone: + 47 481 31 065
