MilliAmpere (electric steam)

2022: Commissioning

An unmanned electric passenger ferry, said to be the first of its kind, was commissioned in Norway on 27 September 2022. The vessel was developed by the team of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), it was called MilliAmpere 2.

As part of the trial period, which runs until mid-October 2022, the ferry will carry passengers on the main channel in the city of Trondheim. Although the ferry can accommodate up to 20 passengers, during the test period it will carry no more than 12 people at a time. According to NTNU, this is the first time a self-propelled electric passenger ferry has been put into pilot operation on urban waterways.

MilliAmpere commissioned

Compared to an earlier prototype called the MilliAmpere, the MilliAmpere 2 features significantly larger dimensions, a new design, and more advanced technology solutions related to batteries, chargers, data processing, and dynamic positioning system.

Located on the upper deck panel, sensors such as cameras, LiDAR and radar modules allow the ferry to monitor the environment to avoid collisions with structures or other watercraft. And although the ferry is designed as an autonomous vessel, a human operator located in the control center on land can observe its operation through these sensors and, if necessary, carry out manual remote control.

The technology behind MilliAmpere 2 is commercialized by Zeabuz. This startup one is working with Norwegian ferry company Torghatten to develop an autonomous ferry, which is expected to start operating in,, by Stockholm Sweden the summer of 2023.^[1]

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