Corvus Energy was recently awarded a contract by Alcatraz City Cruises to supply the battery system for the Hornblower Hybrid NY passenger ferry.
San Francisco-based Alcatraz City Cruises, a part of City Experiences and Hornblower Cruises & Events, is considered a leader in green technology adoption.
Alcatraz City Cruises was the first to introduce hybrid-powered passenger ferry service in the United States. Two vessels, the Alcatraz Flyer and the Alcatraz Clipper, currently offer service to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The operation carries thousands of passengers daily and nearly 1.7 milion annually powered by electric propulsion. Both vessels use a Corvus Energy battery system.
After Alcatraz City Cruises introduced its hybrid vessels, City Experiences introduced the first hybrid passenger ferry service on the East Coast and expanded its hybrid vessel program to other U.S. locations. City Experiences said that the Hornblower Hybrid design “reduced fuel consumption by 75%” and estimates that their hybrid fleet annually saves over 235,000 gals. of fuel, which is equivalent to taking 450 cars off the road or planting 718 acres of trees each year.
Pictured: The Alcatraz Clipper, an Alcatraz City Cruises hybrid ferry that uses a Corvus Energy battery system.
The Hornblower Hybrid NY, a vessel retrofit project that requires a 1,627-KWh battery energy storage system (ESS), will be the third City Experiences vessel in California with a Corvus ESS onboard. Corvus will deliver the system from its new U.S.-based manufacturing facility in Bellingham, Wash. Delivery is expected by September 2023.
“We are very pleased to be chosen by Alcatraz City Cruises for the Hornblower Hybrid NY project,” Ole Jacob Irgens, Corvus Energy executive vice president, said in a statement. “City Experiences were among the early adaptors in the United States – leading the way in U.S. marine sector electrification, decarbonization, and greenhouse gas reduction initiatives."
City Experiences has been at the forefront of implementing environmentally conscious, emissions-reducing solutions across a wide range of propulsion systems and energy inputs. Corvus Energy provides zero-emission, hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell technologies to the marine sector.
