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Swiss company BKW FMB Energy Ltd has announced that it is seeking a $10 million investment to press ahead with its Goldfish project to develop a small submarine that would be powered from a floating solar platform.

The company aims to launch the project on Lake Thun in Switzerland, where the planned submarine could carry up to 24 tourists as deep as 300 metres on underwater sightseeing tours.

A solar-powered shuttle boat would take passengers from the starting point on the shore to the floating solar platform. It would be able to hold up to 60 people and would be the mooring point for the submarine and for the solar boat.

The solar platform would be used as a charging station for the solar-electric powered submarine and also act as a mobile power supply for the supply of energy to events on the lakeside.

The floating platform would be automatically positioned by means of GPS at all times.

BKW envisages the vessel linking to a floating solar charging station with five solar generators, each with at least 40 square metres of solar panels.

The Bern-based firm said the energy that is produced by the solar power station should be sufficient for the dives of the submarine, and should also guarantee the safe operation of the platform itself.

BKW completed its feasibility study for Project Goldfish in June and unveiled it in September at the Expo 2008 event in Zaragoza, Spain.

The main purpose of the project was to build the first floating, mobile, solar power station in the world.

"The idea behind the project was to create a solar power station that could be utilised in a flexible manner. It should be able to be used commercially in very different regions of the earth for different purposes, and should make a contribution to relieving the demand for the scarce resources of energy and water," said BKW during its presentation entitled "Swiss innovation with solar energy" at Expo 2008.

Whilst the market for solar-powered submarines is unlikely to be large, BKW believes the concept of mobile solar charging stations could be used in a number of ports worldwide to provide the basis of a solar recharging network for boats and barges. This could, in turn, help to reduce ship emissions.

Citing possible implementation examples, BKW said "The attractive subject of emission-free mobility with mobilesolar platforms could be implemented in Dubai. Both solar-electric powered ships and submarines could be usefully operated, for example in connection with the Burj Al Arab Hotel."

The company also used Shanghai as an example saying "Passenger transport across the Huanpu River in Shanghai could be carried out in the future using solar-powered ships. Thousands of tons of CO2 emissions could thereby be saved."