Maid of the Mist: Making Waves for Electrification | Article

Since 1846, the Maid of the Mist has taken millions of tourists through the spray of Niagara Falls. Today’s boats are powered by diesel engines, after having been steam-powered for the first 109 years of the service. In the very near future, they will be electric—the first new-build, battery-powered, electric ferries in the United States. Both vessels were christened on July 31: the James V. Glynn is named in honor of Maid of the Mist's Chairman & CEO, and the Nikola Tesla celebrates the Serbian-American inventor and engineer who played a key role in the development of the alternating current electricity system.

The James V. Glynn and Nikola Tesla will be 100 percent emission-free by using electricity generated only a few miles from their docks, at the fourth largest hydroelectric facility in the United States. Not only does the location of the hydroelectric plant on the Niagara River make it easy for electricity to reach the ships' charging stations, but the short, predictable routes of the ferries made it simple to determine the required energy storage capacity. The 315-kWh battery can be charged to 80 percent in just ten minutes, and, over the lifetime of the boats, will save their operators money. But cost reduction was not their main focus, says Peter Bryn, a Marine & Ports Technical Solutions Manager at ABB, who is involved with the project.

“They did this because they wanted to do the right thing. They wanted to be out front and help advance zero-emission ferries," Bryn said.

Maid of the Mist approached ABB about electrification to demonstrate the potential of electric engines on ships. Annually, the Maid of the Mist ferries serve 1.6 million passengers from across the world, making the boats an ideal platform to showcase the benefits of electrification.

“A lot of this is getting operators and the public excited for how they can move past diesel,” Bryn said. “A project like [the Maid of the Mist] is good, because they have a lot of visibility and a lot of ridership. It's just an iconic project."

And Maid of the Mist is not the only boat operator interested in electrification. Bryn’s team, which sells maritime vessels throughout the United States, has over 100 operators from across the country interested in electrification of some kind, ranging from 100 percent electric propulsion to diesel-electric hybrids or, on the more bleeding edge, fuel cell power (fuels cells are powered by hydrogen and release no harmful emissions).

Bryn says his team approaches every project with the goal of total electrification, but, “at the end of the day, it's got to make economic sense or at least be a no-regrets decision.” He compares purchasing electrified vessels to purchasing a Tesla, “It's going to cost you more upfront, but the operating expense is so much lower.... Anytime these vessels are at the dock charging, they're making money, because it's cheaper to get the electrons from the grid than from molecules of fuel."

Even operators that may not see large economic incentives will opt for all-electric because of “other factors driving them to make a zero-emission decision." Municipal or state governments may choose zero-emission vessels because their constituents push for it. Other times, grants or government incentives help operators get over initial capital expenses, making the investment more palatable. But, according to Bryn, most of the time the economics work themselves out for battery-powered vessels.

“I can make the economics work on a lot of battery-powered vessels without any help at all,” Bryn said. “Fuel cells, we're not there yet. So, if we're going to use grants, that's where we'll do it."

Another benefit of the transition to electric vessels is the ability for future upgrades. A new vessel is a million to multi-million-dollar investment, and operators do not want to make a purchase that will become obsolete in ten years. These ships need to last anywhere from 30 to 50 years, and a ship with an electrified propulsion system, like the one installed in the new Maid of the Mist ferries, is easier to upgrade compared to a diesel engine.

But electrifying is not easy, even if the economics work out. Because batteries are new to the maritime industry, getting a certificate of inspection from the U.S. Coast Guard can be challenging because the standards for battery power are still evolving. On top of that, a new propulsion system means retraining crew members and building shore charging facilities. This means an operator has to work more closely with utilities than ever before to build a substation to power those facilities. These new electrified vessels also must be able to perform just as well as competitors’ vessels with diesel engines.

"We're still pushing this technology in the market. It's the exception. It's by no means the rule yet, but the tendency of an owner to approach with interest in hybrids is becoming a lot more common now," reports Bryn.

Another group that approached Bryn’s team at ABB with interest in electrification was the State of Washington Ferry System. It is still in the development phase, but once this project is completed, Washington’s new ferry will be the largest all-electric ferry in the world based on the size of its battery pack. The battery pack will have 9.9-mWh of storage, a capacity over 30 times larger than that of the Maid of the Mist ships.

To Bryn, this project is a great example for other ferry systems and smaller vessel operators in the United States and across the world. “If we can do this on the Washington state ferries, we can do this on your tugboat. It's not rocket science. We're at the leading edge, but we're not at the bleeding edge. Batteries are established, they're improving all the time which is great, but we don't expect any major surprises at this point.”

While battery capacity is increasing, battery-electric will not be the answer for all vessels. Larger, heavier vessels or vessels with longer routes will likely have to turn to other solutions to switch away from diesel. Bryn’s prediction: green hydrogen (i.e., hydrogen that is produced by electrolyzing water with clean energy). Another option could be biofuels, which are appealing to some operators because they don’t require special storage, unlike hydrogen. The Red and White Fleet, a low-emission passenger ferry operator in San Francisco, employs a combination of battery power and biofuels to reduce its carbon emissions by 30-80 percent.

Any reduction in diesel use on boats like ferries means an improved passenger experience, savings for the operator, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and protection for the environment. For Bryn, the largest benefits of projects like Maid of the Mist and Washington Ferries are the awareness they bring to the maritime industry and its impact on the environment.

“Anything we can do to get people talking and thinking about our often-forgotten industry and that it needs to be part of the solution, is a good thing."

Author: Bridget Williams