Kochi: India’s first sea-going solar fishing boat will be ready by Dec 2021 at Vypeen and Munambam in Kerala. Funded by Shell Foundation, the independent charity arm of British Dutch Petroleum company, five boats are in various stages of development, and works are done by a startup named NavAlt Solar & Electric Boats.
CEO of NavAlt, Sandith Thandasherry said there are over 2.5 lakh small fishing boats in India and 1.13 tonnes CO2 are released/ tonne of live weight of marine fish netted. Shell Foundation is supporting the project initially with Rs. 1.5 Crore which includes the cost of developing the boat as well as financing the buyers to cover the extra cost compared to a traditional boat.
