We’re excited to announce Aditya “India’s First Solar Ferry” as a winner for this year’s Gustave Trouvé Awards, under category III: Excellence in Electric Boats Designed for Paying Passengers. Gussie’s Electric Boat Award is the world’s only international award exclusively for electric boats. The first round had 50 electric boats nominated, representing 19 countries of manufacture, including France, Germany, Norway, the USA, the UK, and Switzerland.
The award is instituted in memory of Gustave Trouvé, an astoundingly prolific electric engineer and inventor with over 75 patents to his name. “Aditya” is now selected as the world’s most successful commercial ferry model. It has been selected as the winner by voting among champion companies that are pioneering in the emerging electric boating sector to build a better, smarter, and cleaner future.
Navalt CEO Sandith Thandasherry said, “It’s great recognition for the innovative work we have carried out.” In this prestigious moment, we are thankful to the organisers of the Gussie’s Award, the Kerala State Water Transport Department, and all our well-wishers who helped us reach here. We see a lot of demand for our electric boats, with some giant steps being made across the country. We will ensure that our expertise and experience will be fully utilised towards our vision to bring down the energy needs of the boating industry to zero. “We believe this recognition will give us opportunities for new partnerships, which are vital in the decarbonization of water transport.”
Aditya, which is India’s first and largest solar ferry, has been operating in the Kerala backwaters for the last three years without a drop of fuel. The very low daily OPEX of 2.6 US dollars makes this ferry the most successful commercial ferry model in the world. It is recognised as the most efficient and sustainable proven solution in the world by the International Solar Alliance and the Solar Impulse Foundation, headquartered in Switzerland.
This recognition is a proud moment for India and a demonstration of how Indian companies can achieve the implementation of frontier technologies. “Navalt aims to indigenize the core technologies that enable advanced solar-electric ferries.” For ADITYA-type ferries, it has achieved over 65%. It is currently limited by the unavailability of lithium cells in India. For advanced hybrid technologies, this figure is closer to 50%. “If some of the policies of discrimination against indigenization are removed, this process can be faster,” said Mr. Sandith.
Link: https://plugboats.com/winners-of-the-1st-gussies-electric-boat-awards/
More details on discrimination against indigenization: https://sandith.in/2020/07/12/aatmanirbhar-in-theory-and-practice/
