By 2013, the Kerala State Water Transport Department operated around 100 diesel-powered ferries, carrying 75 to 100 passengers across the state's waterways. The real challenge was not simply pollution, it was economics. On routes such as Vaikom Thayvanakkadavu, the cost of diesel, maintenance, crew and daily operations could exceed the revenue generated by the ferry, making the service financially unsustainable. SWTD needed a better way to power its boats.

In 2014, the Navalt team began designing a solar-electric ferry from the ground up. Lightweight GRP and aluminium construction significantly reduced the vessel's weight, while computational fluid dynamics helped reduce drag to around one-third of that of a typical ferry. Combined with electric propulsion and marine grade lithium-based battery storage, these choices created a vessel designed to use far less energy while meeting stringent safety requirements

On 12 January 2017, Aditya was inaugurated as India's pioneering solar ferry for the Kerala State Water Transport Department. Designed to carry 75 passengers, it became the world's first solar ferry to meet more than 61% of its energy needs through solar power. On a sunny day, it could cruise for more than six hours without an external charge. Aditya wasn't built simply to demonstrate solar technology, it was built to make public water transport cleaner, quieter, more efficient and commercially viable. give me a better heading