“We are seeing a clear trend towards more and larger orders for converting ferries from fossil fuel to electric propulsion. This order is our largest to date and the result of focused work on both our products and partnerships within the maritime sector. This also solidifies that we are now seriously considered one of the leading suppliers in maritime electrification. An important milestone for Echandia”, says Fredrik Hellström, CEO of Echandia.

At the end of 2023, Scandlines announced that two of the four passenger ferries on the Puttgarden-Rødby route will be converted to plug-in hybrid ferries, where electricity will contribute about 80 per cent of the energy needed for a crossing. The conversion is part of the ambition to operate the Puttgarden-Rødby route without direct emissions by 2030 and to realise the company's zero direct emissions vision by 2040.

After a competitive tender process with several suppliers, Scandlines has chosen Wärtsilä as the supplier of the new electrical systems for the Scandlines hybrid ferries, SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN and DEUTSCHLAND. In addition to supplying the actual systems, Wärtsilä will supervise the installation on board and be responsible for commissioning.

Wärtsilä has by far done the most hybrid retrofits on ships worldwide, with the first taking place in 2012. This extensive and long-standing experience was a key consideration for this project.

"We are so pleased to have the most important supplier in place, and we are very much looking forward to working with Wärtsilä and getting started with the conversion. With the plug-in hybrid ferries, we can get even closer to our goal of operating the Puttgarden-Rødby route emission-free by 2030," says Scandlines' CEO Michael Guldmann Petersen.

“We are excited to support Scandlines with their vision towards delivering environmentally sustainable transport options for the region. Ship electrification is one of the solutions for marine decarbonisation and as the world’s biggest conversion project of its kind, we can help Scandlines move closer to meeting their goal of making the route emission-free by 2030,” comments Roger Holm, President of Wärtsilä Marine and Executive Vice President at Wärtsilä Corporation.”

The conversion of the ferries is scheduled to start in the second half of 2025. A diesel generator will be removed and replaced by a 5 MWh energy storage system, initially planned for with a 10 MWh capacity, but Scandines decided to switch to lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) batteries.

Data on Scandlines' electrification project:
Electrification of two of the four passenger ferries operating the Puttgarden-Rødby route
Service speed: 18.5 knots
On-board energy storage system: 5 MWh on both ferries
Charging in port (Puttgarden and Rødby): 12 minutes
Investment: EUR 31 million
Financial support: The German Ministry of Transport has awarded the project financial support as part of a funding programme covering sustainable modernisation of coastal vessels to reduce emissions, covering up to 40 percent of the conversion costs.

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