Battery-Electric Fishing Vessel to Be Tested in Alaska
Harvesters with the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) are collaborating with the Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) to test the future of energy-efficient low emissions fishing vessels powered by battery-electric motors.
Plans are for a 46-foot commercial fishing boat, the I Gotta, to cruise into the cold waters of Sitka this fall, cut its diesel engine and turn on a low-and zero-emissions propulsion system, becoming one of the first low-emissions fishing vessels ever deployed in Alaska.
Officials with the federal Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. announced Aug. 22 that when using a unique parallel hybrid battery-diesel system, the boat can travel at full speed using its diesel eng...