Hybrid Car News

North Kingstown, R.I. shipyard Senesco Marine said it has been selected by the Maine Department of Transportation to build a new hybrid-electric passenger vessel for the Maine State Ferry Service (MSFS).The 154-foot passenger-vehicle ferry, designed by Gilbert Associates, will be equipped with BAE Systems’ electric hybrid propulsion solution to deliver reduced and zero-emission operations capability for the Rockland-based ferry service that serves nearly 500,000 riders and 190…

Waterjet propulsion specialist HamiltonJet said its new Electro-Hybrid Drive (EHX) demonstrator boat is now in operation, having successfully passed its Maritime New Zealand Certificate of Survey.ARIA, a 15-meter aluminum hydrofoil-assisted catamaran, is fitted with HamiltonJet’s new Electro-Hybrid Drive (EHX) system unveiled last year. According to the manufacturer, the system offers all the advantages of electric drive with the full capabilities of diesel, namely lower CO2 emissions combined with the speed…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and e5 Lab. concluded a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) to conduct a joint study of a hybrid pure car carrier equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell system and large-capacity batteries (hydrogen hybrid PCC). The companies aim to develop a hydrogen hybrid PCC, which do not emit carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), or particulate matter (PM) while underway in coastal waters or in ports, in other words, achieving “zero emissions…

Sweden’s largest hybrid-electric car ferry, Tellus, will soon begin passenger operations.The ferry will service Sweden's busiest maritime routes, along with more than 100,000 vehicles transported per month, the majority being heavy trucks.The 100-metre Tellus ferry can carry 80 cars and 297 passengers per tour and will operate with a battery capacity of 949 kWh mainly in fully electric mode.Danfoss Editron supplied the electric drive system. The Tellus ferry will “mainly operate on fully-electric mode”, which will help contribute to the government target of becoming free of fossil fuels by 2045, and operate on one of Sweden’s busiest maritime routes…

Old photos show mid-nineteenth century sailing ships abandoned in the San Francisco Bay area by crews who caught gold fever. Some of these abandoned hulls lie under the modern day city of San Francisco. Over in Sausalito, just to the north of the famous Golden Gate Bridge, what may well be the spirit of one of those buried vessels has taken shape under the direction of Captain Alan Olson, who has several decades of experience building and restoring and sailing classic wooden ships.

ABB will supply the power system for a hybrid car ferry serving a passenger route in Norway. The vessel will run as a hybrid but can be modified to run as a full electric ferry with shore charging system. According to ABB, the contract is another success in northern Europe, where regulation is causing passenger ship operators to look at green solutions. “This is another example of how ABB is at the forefront of energy storage solutions for the maritime industry,” said Sindre Sætre, ABB’s Director of Marine and Ports in Norway. This latest contract comes months after ABB secured the order to supply the power system for the Seasight battery sightseeing ferry, which will serve the UNESCO listed Nærøyfjord.

Tapping into one of its major business fields, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has established MOL Auto Carrier Express (MOL ACE) as global brand in the car carrier service. MOL will start to use MOL ACE beginning July 1. MOL’s carrier service network includes offices and agencies in approximately 140 nations around the world, and the MOL Group operates about 120 car carriers that transport automobiles, buses and trucks  as well as other large cargos such as machinery and trailers used in construction.

China lost an appeal at the World Trade Organization in a case brought by the United States, the European Union and Japan to challenge China's restrictions on exports of rare earths, according to a WTO Appellate Body ruling published on Thursday. "... China has not demonstrated that the export quotas that China applies to various forms of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum by virtue of the series of measures at issue are justified ... " the document's conclusion said. China produces more than 90 percent of the world's rare earths, which are key elements in defence industry components and modern technology from iPhones and disk drives to wind turbines. It imposed strict export quotas in 2010, saying it was trying to curtail pollution and preserve resources.

First company to receive ISO50001 certification from Nihon Kaiji Kyokai. MOL Ship Management Co., Ltd. (MOLSHIP), a core ship management company in the corporate group headed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), has announced acquisition of certifications from Nihon Kaiji Kyokai (NK; Chairman and President: Noboru Ueda), for Energy Management Systems (ISO50001*1) and Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001*2). NK Executive Vice President Koichi Fujiwara presented the certificates to MOLSHIP President Furukawa in July 29 ceremony at NK headquarters.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced plans to assist the non-profit organization South Africa Primary Education Support Initiative (Sapesi-Japan, *1) with the ocean transport of mobile library vehicles to the Republic of South Africa. Such assistance was provided in 2009 and 2010, so the current project is the third for MOL. MOL previously transported 24 vehicles, and in this phase, it will transport eight vehicles. Four of them are being transported by MOL’s cutting-edge hybrid car carrier, the Emerald Ace (*2), which departed Japan on April 8.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced the completion of the hybrid car carrier Emerald Ace at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) Kobe shipyard, an innovative ship which is designed to generate zero emissions while berthed. Emerald Ace was built as world’s first newly built hybrid car carrier, and is equipped with a hybrid electric power supply system that combines a 160kW solar generation system – a system jointly developed by MHI, Energy Company of Panasonic Group, and MOL - with lithium-ion batteries that can store some 2.2MWh of electricity.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) announced the completion of the hybrid car carrier Emerald Ace, designed to generate zero emissions while berthed, at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; President: Hideaki Omiya), Kobe shipyard. The Emerald Ace was built as world’s first newly built hybrid car carrier, and is equipped with a hybrid electric power supply system that combines a 160kW solar generation system(*) - jointly developed by MHI, Energy Company of Panasonic Group (President: Masato Ito)…

Tokyo - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) has announced the launching of the hybrid car carrier Emerald Ace at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI). The Emerald Ace, designed to generate zero emissions while berthed, was designated as a project to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels, and earned MOL a subsidy from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in 2009. The Emerald Ace, slated for delivery in June, 2012, will be the world’s first newly delivered hybrid car carrier and begin test operations of its hybrid power system. The vessel’s hybrid system represents a significant step forward in realizing ISHIN-I, the concept for the next-generation car carrier MOL announced in September, 2009.

Hybrid Car Carrier launch scheduled for June 2012Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) announced the  exterior and basic design of the hybrid car carrier aiming at zero emissions while berthed had been determined. As a “project that develops systems to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels”, the vessel earned MOL a subsidy from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in 2009. The vessel will be launched at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Kobe shipyard in June 2012. generation with lithium-ion batteries for power storage.

Last year, Circle Line unveiled a state-of-the-art solar and wind powered hybrid electric ferry named Miss Statue of that it predicts will join their Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island fleet and will bring a green revolution to waterborne transportation in . Circle Line, the New York City ferry operator that provides millions of visitors with trips to the both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island each year, unveiled a model of the solar and wind powered hybrid vessel, which uses a solar sail covered in solar panels to collect energy from both the sun and wind and emits almost no noise, vibration or fumes. The solar vessel is being constructed in partnership with 's Solar Sailor Holdings, Ltd.

Two hybrid ferries powered by the wind and sun will carry visitors to Alcatraz under a new ten-year contract between the National Park Service and Hornblower Cruises and Events. To help win the multi-million dollar contract, the ferry operator committed to build two brand new hybrid-electric passenger vessels that maximize the use of solar and wind energy, with zero emissions at the wharf. The first will be built within two years, and the second by year five. The hybrid vessels in the winning proposal by Hornblower were designed by Solar Sailor and modeled on the Solar Sailor ferry in Sydney, Australia. Bluewater Network introduced the Solar Sailor concept to ferry planners on the Bay five years ago and have been lobbying for such a vessel ever since.