Designing and building boats for future electric workboat fleets must focus on four keywords: power, torque, endurance, and range.
Repeatable routes, charging infrastructure and local regulations can be other ingredients to making a business case for electrification, said Marcelino Alvavrez, CEO of Photon Marine, who moderated a panel titled “Navigating the waters of vessel electrification” at the International WorkBoat Show Tuesday.
For designers and builders, “we need to understand what you are trying to address?” said Clouston Van Gundy, vice president of Crowley, designers of the 82'x78'4" electric tugboat e-Wolf, a WorkBoat Significant Boat of 2024.
Crowley designers worked with tug operators to understand power needs, said Van Gundy. The tug, built by Master Boat Builders, has batteries that are sized for a typical day of two ship assists in San Diego harbor. The propulsion system has the ability to charge quickly for an additional job, too.
In fact, “we actually use a lot less energy than we thought,” said Van Gundy. “Just the other day, we were able to do five jobs on one charge.”
Another part of the business plan is different expectations for energy costs and planning.
