‘Aditya’-India’s first solar-powered ferry has won the esteemed Gustave Trouve Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating. Aditya won the award after competing with five other finalists from European countries in the public transportation category.
The Gustave Trouve Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating was founded in the memory of Gustave Trouvé, a French electrical engineer and pioneer in electric cars and boats.
Designed by the NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats, Aditya is a sun-powered commuter ferry that is one of the great stories of the future of electric marine propulsion. Each day, the boat makes 22 trips with 75 people on board –ferrying a total of 5,80,000 people annually. The charging cost to top-up the batteries is $2.60 a day and has helped Aditya to avoid burning of 58,000 liters of diesel, saving $4,612,000- $65,000 per annum.
Sandith Thandasherry, Founder & CEO of NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats happily commented that, it was a proud moment for the state. Aditya was the only ferry from Asia among the 12 vessels from across the globe which qualified for the award.
It entered the finals with five other contestants in the first week of July through public voting. The company was grateful to the state government for giving them the opportunity to build Aditya. They were also in the process of making five more Adityas, which would be handed over to the government by the end of this year, added Thandasherry.
The ferry provides services to people between Thavanakadavu in Alappuzha and Vaikom in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. It is fortified with ultra-modern facilities like eco-sounder, GPS, hydraulic steering, automatic pump to remove water from the haul, and many other facilities.
The Department of Ship Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, was part of the technical committee that did a viability study and sanctioned the project at several stages during design and construction.
