Aditya (boat)

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History
India
Name: Aditya
Owner: Kerala State Water Transport Department
Operator: Kerala State Water Transport Department
Port of Kerala Ports
registry:
Route: Vaikom - Thavanakkadavu
Builder: NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats, Kochi, India
Cost: 370,000 US$
Yard number: Y-09
Launched: 9 November 2016
Completed: November 2016
In service: 12 January 2017
Status: In service
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Indian Register of Shipping IRS +IW ZONE 3
FERRY
Displacement: 23 tonnes
Length: 21 m
Beam: 7m
Height: 3.7 m
Draught: 0.95 m
Depth: 1.75 m
Decks: Single
Installed 2 × 9 kW (cruise)
power:
2 × 20 kW (max)
Propulsion: 2 Permanent magnet asynchronous electrical
motors - 20 kW each (max) @ 700 rpm
Speed:  7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) (max)
 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h; 6.3 mph)
(cruising)

Capacity: 75 passengers
Crew: 3
Aditya, India's first solar ferry, is a solar-powered ferry operating between Vaikkom and
Thavanakkadavu[2] in the Indian state of Kerala.[2][3] The boat was inaugurated by Kerala Chief
Minister Sri. Pinarayi Vijayan and Central Cabinet Minister for Power, Renewable Energy, Sri.
Piyush Goyal on 12 January 2017.[4] It is India's first solar-powered ferry[3] and the largest solar-
powered boat in India.[5] The vessel was designed and built by NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats[6]
in Kochi, India. NavAlt is a joint venture firm between Navgathi Marine Design and
Constructions,[7] Alternative Energies[8] (France) and EVE Systems[9] (France).

Contents
 1 Operation
 2 Test and trials
 3 Technical features
 4 Safety features
 5 Energy balance as per the Specifications
 6 Pay-back period
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 External links

Operation
The boat is operating since launch on 12 January 2017 between Vaikkom and Thavanakkadavu.
[2][10]
The live position and operation data of the boat is available in the Kerala State Water
Transport Department website - http://swtd.xship.in/aditya

On 12 January, 2019 it completed two years of service. In this period the boat carried 600,000
passengers and travelled a distance of 38,000 km without a single drop of fuel thereby saving
58,000 litres of diesel. This saved almost 45 lakhs (65,000 US$) in diesel and maintenance cost.

The first year of operation shows the following summary[11].

 Propulsion energy per day for 22 trips – 72.8 kWh

 Propulsion energy per trip – 3.3 kWh
 Battery state of charge (SOC) at end of day – 58%
 Grid charging cost per day – 2.6 US$ (₹ 179)

The first150 days operation data shows that even rainy days during monsoon did not affect the
schedule of the boat.[10][12]

 Propulsion energy per day for 22 trips – 73.7 kWh

 Propulsion energy per trip – 3.5 kWh
  Battery state of charge (SOC) at end of day – 60%
 Grid charging cost per day – 2.5 US$ (₹ 163)

The first 60 days operation data of ADITYA yielded the following results[13]

 Propulsion energy per day for 22 trips – 73.3 kWh

 Propulsion energy per trip – 3.33 kWh
 Battery state of charge (SOC) at end of day – 65%
 Grid charging cost per day – 1.9 US$ (₹ 124)

Test and trials

The boat was launched on 9 November 2016. After that multiple sets of tests and trials were
conducted to verify the operational characteristics and safety standards of the boat.

 Optimisation Trials - to refine the settings in the internal software to ensure higher
efficiency in the solar energy conversion and propulsion system, the tests was done on 13
and 14 November 2016 with the experts from France.
 Builders Trials - done on 15 November 2016, to ensure the systems was functioning as
per specifications.
 IRS and Technical Committee Trials - done on 16 November 2016[14] to verify the
operation, speed, safety of the boat. The maximum speed was noted as 7.4 knots @ 90%
propulsive power. The power needed to move the boat at cruise speed of 5.5 knots was
15 kW. The boat was also tested for redundancy trials by shutting down one system and
checked whether using one system the boat can still move at cruise speed of 5.5 knots.
Other manoeuvring tests were also done.
 Client Trials - done on 25 November 2016,[3][15] along with Transport Minister Sri. A. K.
Saseendran, Aroor MLA Sri. A. M. Ariff, Vaikom MLA C. K. Asha. The performance
was satisfactory for the dignitaries as well as the operators of the Kerala State Water
Transport Department. The Transport Minister proclaimed that 14 more such ferries are
planned this year.[3]
 Site Trials - done at Vaikom to Thavanakkadavu route in presence of Technical
committee, IRS and Kerala Port surveyor from morning to evening. As per the
specifications, 22 trips was done with full load and it was satisfactory.

Technical features
The 20-metre-long and 7-metre-wide boat is covered by 140 square metres (1,500 sq ft) of solar
panels rated at 20 kW, which in turn connect to two electric motors of 20 kW, one in each hull.
There are 700 kg of lithium-ion batteries in the ship's two hulls with a total capacity of 50 kWh.
The catamaran hull and its shape allow it to reach speeds of up to 7.5 knots. This was verified by
Indian Register of Shipping surveyor, Kerala Port surveyor and technical committee. The hull
was designed based on extensive experience of Navgathi[16] and AltEn[17] and extensive
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was done to determine its hydrodynamics. The boat is
designed to be used as a passenger ferry to operate between Vaikom and Thavanakadavu.[18]
The normal operating speed is 5.5 knots (10 km/h) to achieve a 15-minute travel time between
Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu, a distance of 2.5 km on water. For achieving this speed, the
power needed is about 16 kW. During manoeuvring, when leaving the jetty or approaching it,
about 22 kW of power are needed. Hence, on an average about 20 kW power is needed. The total
running time, neglecting the time in jetty for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, is
5.5 hours on a sunny day (depending on client needs).[19]

Although the maximum power needed is a total of 22 kW during manoeuvring and 16 kW under
cruise, more than double the power, a total of 40 kW, is provided in two motors of 20 kW each.
The two systems on either side of the boat (in each demi-Hull) are electrically independent to
ensure redundancy in case of system failure in one. Even if one system fails the power is
available to safely cruise to shore with other. Also, unlike diesel engines, since efficiency does
not drop with load, the electric motors can normally operate at 50% load and in emergencies at
100%.[19]

For higher safety standards and reliability, the vessel is built under Indian Register of Shipping
rules for inland vessels and operating conditions of the Vaikom – Thavanakkadavu route. The
boat construction is complete and was tested by Technical committee, Indian Register of
Shipping surveyor and Kerala Port surveyor on 16 November 2016, near in backwaters at Aroor.
[19][20]
The boat is registered in Kodungallur Port under Kerala Ports.

The boat is remotely monitored and trouble shooting can also be done remotely. All the
operating parameters of the boat are recorded and transmitted to the NavAlt Solar and Electric
Boats[6] server from where the technical experts can monitor the boat. The upgrades and settings
in the software can also be performed remotely as if a computer is plugged on the boat. This
makes the boat even more safe.

The project cost was US$370,000.[19][21][22]

Safety features
The boat satisfies the Indian Register of Shipping's safety requirement of being able to maintain
cruise speed with one set of propulsion shut down.[14]

Energy balance as per the Specifications

The total energy needed to operate the ferry for 5.5 hours is 110 kWh (20 kW is average power).
1 kW solar panels produce 4 kWh of energy per day, factoring the system efficiency and
standard sun of the location of 5.72 (average throughout the year). Hence the energy from solar
panels is 80 kWh. The gap in energy is provided by lithium battery that can provide up to 40
kWh (80% discharge) from a total capacity of 50 kWh. The lithium batteries are fully charged in
the morning because of overnight grid charging.[19]

A trip between the two boat points takes 15 minutes and it needs energy of 5 kWh. Hence a total
of 22 trips can be made daily transporting 1,650 people daily, or 580,000 people every year
without burning fuel.

Trips on average sunny day: 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM (running hours 5.5 hours)

The below table describes the 22 trips in each column, and for each trip the start time and end
time. It also list the break time at the end of each trip. In non-peak hours this is about 15 minutes,
in peak time it is 10 minutes and around noon it is two hours. The energy from sun is cumulative
at the end of the period and for an average sunny day it is about 72 kWh from 18 kW panels (the
rest is for auxiliary systems and charges a different battery bank). The battery state of charge
(SOC) is shown at the beginning of trip and end of trip. At the end of the day, the battery has
about 20% charge left. The energy use can be further optimised by adding one more trip (5 kWh
usage) so that end of day battery SOC can be 10%.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
7: 7: 8: 8: 8: 9: 9: 10: 10: 11: 13: 14: 14: 15: 15: 16: 16: 17: 17: 18: 18: 19:
Vaikom
00 45 00 40 50 30 40 25 40 25 35 20 35 20 35 20 30 10 20 00 15 00
Thavanak 7: 7: 8: 8: 9: 9: 9: 10: 10: 11: 13: 14: 14: 15: 15: 16: 16: 16: 17: 17: 18: 18:
adavu 15 30 15 25 05 15 55 10 55 10 50 05 50 05 50 05 45 55 35 45 30 45
0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0:1 0:1 2:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1 0:1
Break
15 15 10 10 10 10 15 5 5 0 5 5 5 5 5 0 0 0 0 5 5
Total 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0:3 0:3 2:2 0:3 0:3 0:3 0:3 0:3 0:2 0:2 0:2 0:2 0:3 0:3 0:1
Time 30 30 25 25 25 25 30 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 0 0 5
Battery
SOC 35. 31. 28. 26. 25. 25. 25. 26. 49. 49. 48. 47. 41. 35. 27. 22. 22. 17.
50 45 40 45
(kWh) at 5 7 8 5 5 2 5 1 3 3 7 3 4 1 1 1 1 1
start
Sun
0. 10. 15. 20. 26. 54. 59. 63. 67. 71. 72. 72. 72. 72. 72. 72.
Productio 0 0 1.7 3.8 6.5 70
5 5 2 5 1 3 3 7 3 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
n (kWh)
Motor
consumpti 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
on (kWh)
Battery
SOC 35 31. 27. 25. 23. 22. 22. 23. 24. 46. 46. 45. 43. 40. 36. 32. 27. 22. 17. 12.
45 40
(kWh) at .2 1 9 3 4 8 8 3 1 8 6 6 8 9 9 1 1 1 1 1
end

On a bright sunny day, the no. of trips can be increased by taking trips during 11:55 to 14:05
break. About four more trips can be made in this period.

On a cloudy day, the no. of trips is reduced and the break time is increased. If it is very cloudy in
the break time, then shore charging can be done. This is a 32A charger and charges at 7 kW.
Hence in the three hour break, it can charge battery by 21 kWh.

Pay-back period
Compared to a conventional boat powered by diesel with same functional features and safety
standards which costs 231,000 US$, the solar ferry costs 370,000 US$. An efficient conventional
boat consumes 120 litres per day (12 litres per hour), or 3,500 litres per month and 42,000 litres
per year of diesel. This amounts to 39,000 US$ for diesel (@ 0.93 US$/litre) and total operating
costs including lube oil and other maintenance costs amounts to 44,600 US$ per year.

The operating cost of solar ferry is 40 units of electricity or 6.2 US$ per day which amounts to
185 US$ per month and 2,150 US$ per year.

The pay-back period is under three years.[19]

The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister, Sri. Narendra Modi is very
supportive of the project and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has also agreed to
sponsor the project considering that this is a first of its kind in India. The benefit of sponsorship
would mean that Kerala State Water Transport Department would get the boat at almost free of
cost. In this scenario the boat is cheaper than conventional boat and they would start saving
money from day one.[19][22]

See also
  Electric boat
 Solar Impulse, a solar powered airplane
 List of solar-powered boats

References
1.

 "Technical Data Sheet". NavAlt. Archived from the original on 2010-07-05.

  "India's first solar boat launched in Kochi". DeccanChronicle.com. 13 January 2017.
Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  "First solar ferry ride a success". Deccan Chronicle. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26
November 2016.
  "Kerala Govt. Commissions India's First Solar-Powered Boat, Paves the Way for a
Greener Tomorrow". The Better India. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  "Kerala company builds country's largest solar ferry". timesofindia-economictimes. 22
April 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats
  Navgathi Marine Design and Constructions
  Alternative Energies
  EVE Systems
  "India's first solar boat 'Aditya' successfully completes 150 days of voyage". Deccan
Chronicle. 2017-06-15. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  "Economics of ADITYA – India's First Solar Ferry" (PDF). IEEE India Info. Vol. 13 No.
3. July–September 2018.
  "ADITYA – 150 Days of Service; and Surprise!". Sandith Thandasherry. 2017-06-13.
Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  "ADITYA - Sixty days of Operation". 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  "Solar ferry undergoes successful trials". The Hindu. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20
November 2016.
  "Commuters, get ready for more sun-kissed rides on the waters". New Indian Express. 26
November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  Navgathi
  AltEn
  "NavAlt Spreading Ripples of Eco-friendliness". Destination Kerala. Retrieved 2016-07-
10.
  "Solar Today - India's first magazine dedicated to the emerging Solar industry".
www.solartoday.co.in. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  "Indian Express".
  TK, Sreeraj. "Kerala's Backwaters Will Soon Have India's First Solar Powered Boats".
ScoopWhoop. Retrieved 2016-05-24.

1.  "Solar-powered ferry to debut in sunlit Kerala". India Climate Dialogue. 30

May 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
External links