We are designing a smart hybrid system for electric boats. The innovation of our proposal is to design a smart system that will handle the management of the hybrid setup. We aim to use two sources of energy i.e solar and an internal combustion engine with a DC brushless generator. The energy storage will be a lithium ion battery using NMC cells, with a smart management system which can also be accessed using 3G wireless communication. We have extensive experience in the combined heat and power area, hence we also intend to make use of the internal combustion engine exhaust heat to warm the cabin of the boat if required.
Electric boats could provide cleaner transport for short trips in inlet seas and for longer trips such as fishing expeditions. However, such electric boats currently available on the market are too expensive for the local market. Meanwhile, electric boats which are affordable only manage to travel short trips and are not ideal for longer trips such as fishing overnight. We want to offer the market an affordable, environmentally friendly boat which can be used both for short and long distances. We can offer this solution via an innovative hybrid system consisting of an internal combustion engine, a battery and a solar charger all connected to a driving system.
Prof Joseph Cilia and his research team.
Our industrial partners are Abertax Kemtronics Ltd.
This project has been awarded the Maritime Seeds Award (MARSA) 2019.
Interested?