Electric boat trial nears an end on the Exe

A hydrogen electric boat is making waves in the Exe Estuary, as the Exeter Port Authority put the vessel through its paces. The electric boat has been loaned to the City Council’s Harbour Team as part of a trial which ends on 18 December.

A hydrogen electric boat is making waves in the Exe Estuary, as the Exeter Port Authority put the vessel through its paces.

The electric boat has been loaned to the City Council’s Harbour Team as part of a trial which ends on 18 December.

The boat, which was made and designed by Ecomar Propulsion has been helping the Harbour Team with its day-to-day duties on the estuary for the last few weeks to assist with its testing.

The MV Dirac is named after one of the UK’s greatest science minds, Paul Dirac, who won a Nobel prize for his work in quantum physics.

Based on a NATO Combat Ready Boat, she has been radically redesigned internally and is powered by two 250kW Ecomar Kairos motors. She holds 180kWh of Li Ion Batteries which are supplemented by a hydrogen fuel cell that extends the range of the vessel considerably. The hydrogen is supplied in hand-portable BOC Genie bottles which are easily replaced and stored onboard. This means that it is possible to recharge the vessel whenever and wherever necessary.

Working with the Harbour Team and Ecomar, Exeter University’s Centre for Clean Future Mobility has been gathering data from the vessel over the trial period.

“We hope to be able to prove to the communities around the River Exe that the transition to clean maritime is easy and safe and above all sensible. We understand that people have reservations about range and safety but the reality is very different from perception and we hope to be able to demonstrate that with the cooperation of forward thinking ports like Exeter, Britain can lead the world in decarbonising our waterways,” said Eugene Bari, CEO of Ecomar Propulsion.

With fewer than 50 hydrogen vessels globally the Dirac represents a step towards a carbon free future for boats. MV Dirac may not look like the start of a revolution but she certainly represents one.

At the beginning of the trial, Cllr Ruth Williams, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor City Management, said it was great to be using green technology on the Exe: “It’s great to be working closely with the University on ground-breaking initiatives like this and it certainly is a step in the right direction as we move towards becoming zero carbon by 2030.”

Harbourmaster Grahame Forshaw added: “The Exe is an excellent proving ground for this type of work due to the many different and varied tidal and weather conditions that we operate in so Dirac will certainly be working hard and proving the concept of clean energy propulsion for the time she is with us.”

The vessel will be on the Exe Estuary for another couple of weeks before returning to Fareham for a Hydrogen fuel cell to be fitted. She will then be off to Scotland for some further testing and possibly  returning to the Exe next year.