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Ampere, the world's first large fully electric vessel, has received the Seatrade Clean Shipping award for 2015.

Owned and operated by Norled, and designed and constructed by Fjellstrand, the DNV GL-classed car ferry is a fully battery-driven catamaran made of aluminium.

The 80-metre-long vessel is able to carry 120 cars and 360 passengers across the Sognefjord between the villages of Lavik and Oppedal in Norway.

The award was accepted by Sigvald Breivik, Technical Director of Norled, on behalf of the project partners. "Norled are proud to be the first ferry operator to operate the world's first zero emission ferry," he said.

"We are honoured to have been part of the Ampere project and to have received this award,” remarked Narve Mjøs, Director Battery Services & Projects at DNV GL - Maritime. "This has been a very exciting project to work on and we were very pleased that we could help to realise the vision of Norled and Fjellstrand. Vessels such as the Ampere demonstrate how the industry can use existing technologies to improve its impact on the environment, while at the same time maintaining economic operations."

Ampere was christened by Norwegian minister of Trade and Industry, Monica Mæland, at the Fjellstrand yard in October 2014 and is one of three ferries operated by Norled on the route between Lavik and Oppedal. The ferry runs 34 times each day, with a crossing time of 20 minutes. Between trips the 1-megawatt-hour(MWh) lithium-polymer battery pack on board can be charged in ten minutes. As the power required to charge the vessel is beyond the capacity of the electrical grid serving the villages of Lavik and Oppedal, battery buffers have been installed at both ports. These buffer batteries can be continuously charged from the grid to provide a quick charge to the ferry's batteries.

Compared to a standard diesel ferry serving the same route, the Ampere is estimated to save about one million litres of fuel annually, as well as preventing 2,640 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Emissions of particulate matter, nitrous oxide (NOx) and sulphur oxide (SOx) are also eliminated.

According to DNV GL, in economic terms, battery hybridisation of ferries can provide potential fuel cost savings of 10 percent to 30 percent, with a payback time of three to five years, while all-electric ferries can produce fuel cost savings of 50 percent to 80 percent.

The combination of the slim aluminium catamaran hull and propulsion system of 2 x 450 kilowatt (kW) Azimuth thrusters and 2 x 450 kW electric motors means the Ampere is optimised for energy efficiency, while at the same time giving the vessel very good low speed and manoeuvring characteristics, DNV GL says.

Ampere has the DNV GL class notation 1A1 LC R4 (nor) Car Ferry C Battery Power. The battery power notation is mandatory for vessels that use batteries as one of their main sources - or the sole source - of energy for propulsion.

DNV GL has developed several tools to help the spread of battery and electric, such as tentative class rules for battery power, a guideline for large maritime battery systems, a new tool for qualifying battery related systems, a battery ready service (technical, economic and environmental performance analyses), battery sizing and optimisation tools and an introduction course to maritime battery systems.

It is not the first time the industry has honoured the Ampere. During the SMM shipping exhibition in Hamburg, the Norwegian shipping magazine 'Skipsrevyen' gave the annual 'Ship of the year' award to the Ampere's owners, designers and yard.

Image: The Ampere - the world's first large fully electric vessel, owned and operated by Norled.