The collaborative project is part of Destination Gotland's and Rederi AB Gotland's strategic work to reduce the climate footprint and impact on the environment, accelerate climate change in shipping and eventually phase out fossil fuels.

In August, Gotland Tech Development, together with Helios Nordic Energy, METS Technology AB and ABB AB, applied for financial support to analyze how a partial electrification of the Gotland ferry can be carried out. The project has now been granted support from the Swedish Energy Agency's program Energipilot Gotland with SEK 1,238,750. The project runs until December 2022.

The purpose of the project is to give travelers access to fossil-free electricity on board and reduce harmful emissions. The project will investigate how the ship's generators on board can be replaced with a battery bank of rechargeable batteries and thus make the ships a "plug-in hybrid ship".

- An important step towards both fossil- and emission-free maritime transport is to start electrifying parts of the existing ferries' energy systems. We are therefore incredibly happy that we, now together with our partners, have been granted support by the Swedish Energy Agency for this important project, says Christer Bruzelius, project manager at Gotland Tech Development.

The ship's battery charging is planned to take place with fossil-free solar power at port stops, where a technical solution with energy storage ashore with associated chargers and control systems is included. By supplementing today's generators with rechargeable batteries, the ships' CO2 emissions would be significantly reduced.

- Solar power has great potential to contribute to the change. Together with Gotland Tech Development and other partners, we now have a good opportunity to investigate how battery storage can maximize the benefits of our solar parks - for both ferry traffic and for the electricity system on Gotland in general, says Magnus Rahm, project manager Helios Nordic Energy.

About Gotland Tech Development

Gotland Tech Development was founded in the spring of 2021. The company will drive the development towards more sustainable technology solutions and a maritime transport system without carbon dioxide emissions. Gotland Tech Development aims to work partner-based and in collaboration with a focus on new technology development for maritime industries, but will also look at broader collaborations in the transport, energy and fuel areas.

About Helios Nordic Energy

Helios develops large-scale solar parks in the Nordic region. The company has gathered all the expertise needed to develop profitable and delivery-reliable projects. Helios takes care of the entire development phase, ie land selection, the permit procedure, the grid connection process and pre-design and procurement. The company also manages financing through collaboration with well-established and long-term owners and investors.