World’s Largest Battery-Electric Ferry Launches in Tasmania: 40MWh System Powers Breakthrough Vessel

Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania has successfully launched the world’s largest battery-electric vessel.

The temporarily designated Hull 096 130-meter catamaran, which will eventually be named China Zorrilla, was floated on May 2nd at the company’s shipyard in Hobart, Tasmania.

Built for South American ferry operator Buquebus, the vessel promises significant advances in maritime electrification technology. When completed, it will operate between Argentina and Uruguay, crossing the River Plate that forms the two countries’ border.

The vessel’s power system consists of more than 250 tonnes of batteries with an Energy Storage System (ESS) providing over 40 megawatt-hours of installed capacity. According to Incat, this makes it four times larger than any previous maritime battery installation worldwide.

The massive battery system enables the vessel to operate for up to 90 minutes of continuous sailing. Charging facilities are planned on both sides of the river. The charging infrastructure will allow the batteries to fully recharge in approximately 40 minutes during scheduled stops, enabling continuous daily service.

The China Zorrilla’s propulsion system uses eight electric-driven waterjets supplied by maritime power specialist Wärtsilä. This configuration replaces the initially planned dual-fuel LNG engines, which would have provided a maximum speed of over 40 knots.

The vessel was initially envisioned to operate on liquefied natural gas but was re-engineered during construction to run entirely on battery-electric power. This change was implemented to achieve higher sustainability standards and demonstrate full electrification’s viability for large-scale marine transport.

When it enters service, the China Zorrilla will be capable of carrying up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles across the River Plate between Argentina and Uruguay. The vessel is estimated to weigh approximately 14,000 gross tons when fully completed.

The ferry will also house a 2,300-square-meter duty-free retail deck, which Incat claims will be the largest shopping space on any ferry in the world. This will provide the operator with additional commercial benefits beyond transportation services.

Following the successful launch, work will continue to complete the vessel’s interior and final outfitting. The remaining construction phases include battery installation and energy system integration ahead of sea trials, which are scheduled for later this year on the River Derwent near the shipyard.

Incat expects to deliver the vessel to Buquebus before the end of 2025, marking the completion of what the company’s chairman, Robert Clifford, described as “the most ambitious, most complex, and most important project we’ve ever delivered.”

The vessel represents the ninth Incat-built vessel for the Buquebus ferry operator, building upon a long-established relationship between the Tasmanian shipbuilder and the South American transportation company.

If successful, the electric propulsion system could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of ferry operations. According to Incat, the vessel is anticipated to save up to 37,545 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while reducing other pollutants typically associated with conventional marine propulsion systems.

This reduction in emissions aligns with growing environmental concerns about the maritime industry, which, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, accounts for approximately 3% of global annual emissions.

Roger Holm, President of Wärtsilä Marine and Executive Vice President at Wärtsilä Corporation, highlighted the project’s importance: “Ferries play a vital role in meeting the growing demand for environmentally sustainable transport options, with ship electrification a key solution for enabling the sector to transition towards net-zero emissions.”

Dr Liam Davies, a lecturer in sustainability and urban planning at RMIT University, noted that because the vessel will service a regular ferry route, it presents “a good use case” to monitor the effectiveness of shipping electrification technologies. “Using that to learn how we effectively do electric shipping could act as a stepping stone towards container and cargo ships,” Davies said.

The development is part of a growing trend in maritime electrification. Incat Tasmania has joined forces with Wärtsilä and French ferry operator Brittany Ferries to work on the design and technical requirements for an even larger 137-meter zero-emissions vessel.

Robert Clifford indicated that Incat plans to focus on electric and hybrid ferries to meet the increasing demand for such vessels in Australia while keeping pace with the maritime transportation industry’s global decarbonisation efforts.

The China Zorrilla represents an essential milestone in electrifying large marine vessels. While smaller electric boats and ferries have been operating for several years, this vessel demonstrates the potential for scaling battery technology to much larger applications.

If the ferry proves successful in commercial operation, it may help establish the engineering parameters and operational data needed to expand electric propulsion to other vessel types and routes, potentially accelerating the maritime industry’s transition toward lower-emission transportation technologies.