The hybrid diesel-electric river ferry has been handed over to her owners at Västtrafik, a company responsible for providing public transport in western Sweden.

Once the naming ceremony ended, the 33 m-long and 8.5 m-wide Elvy embarked, using battery power (1,008 kWh, enough to run for 4-6 hours), on her first trip across the Göta River between Stenpiren and Lindholmen, a 2.0m passengers/year-heavy line she'll regularly serve as of November (the ship can take up to 300 passengers and 80 bicycles on-board).

"Electrification is our future and naturally ferry traffic will also become part of it. We have set the year 2030 as our target for electrifying all city traffic in Västra Götaland," Peter Hermansson, Chair of Västtrafik's Board of Directors, commented.

To which Hanna Björk, Head of Sustainability, Västtrafik, added, "She's our first step towards fossil-free public water traffic, so it's obvious we're all enormously proud. We'll of course see how it goes with Elvy and how she performers in our network. We need to learn more in order to take next steps."

According to Västtrafik's environmental strategy, the company will have decreased its carbon footprint by 90% by 2035. Västtrafik has already managed to cut its emissions by 70%.

Photo: Västtrafik/Jesper Wiberg