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Aditya: India's First Solar Ferry

  • 09 Jun 2020
  • 2 min read

Why in News

Recently, India’s first solar-powered ferry, Aditya has been shortlisted for the Gustave Trouvé Award as the only entrant from Asia.

  • Aditya, is among 12 such ferries that have been shortlisted for the award across the world.

Gustave Trouvé Awards

  • Gussies Electric Boat Awards were instituted in memory of Gustave Trouvé, a French electrical engineer and pioneer in electric cars and boats.
  • Trouvé was a prolific inventor with over 75 patents. He had also developed a 5-m-long prototype electric boat in 1881.

Key Points

  • Description:
    • Aditya is operating between Vaikkom and Thavanakkadavu in Kerala. It was launched in November 2016 and started its services in 2017.
    • It is India's first solar-powered ferry and the largest solar-powered boat.
      • It is operated by the Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) and built by Navalt Solar and Electric Boats, Kochi.
    • It is powered by a motor that can source energy from solar panels, batteries, and generators.
      • Solar vessels do not create air and noise pollution.
  • Significance:
    • Aditya has a very low per km energy cost and it operates 22 trips a day, covering a total of 66 km, carrying 75 passengers per trip.
    • It needs just Rs. 180 per day in energy cost, compared to about Rs. 8,000 for a diesel-run ferry of similar size, which is unusual for a high technology product to have such a low energy cost.
    • It has a high financial viability with zero pollution vessels.

Source: TH

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