EV Maritime is proud to announce its appointment by leading Australian shipbuilder Echo Marine Group as electric propulsion systems integrator for five new battery-electric fast ferries being built for the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA).

The five 24-metre high-speed vessels form part of the METRONET on Swan Ferry Service Expansion, the largest-ever expansion of Perth’s ferry network. Echo Marine Group was awarded the A$66 million contract to design and construct the fleet.

Naval architecture is by acclaimed Australian firm One2three Naval Architects. EV Maritime will be responsible for electrical systems integration as well as engineering of some key mechanical systems. The new ferries will be Western Australia’s first electric ferry fleet.

EV Maritime’s business model is to de-risk procurement for local government, operators and industry by developing and proving standardized technology platforms for high-performance electric vessels.

The firm’s role in the Perth project builds on the success of their first two “EVM200” 24-metre electric passenger ferries, which were built for Auckland Transport. EV Maritime was responsible for all aspects of design, engineering and system integration for these 200-passenger carbon fibre vessels, which each carry up to 200 passengers and are amongst the fastest fully-electric ferries in the world.

In contrast to the Auckland vessels, which are built to a standardised platform design, the client’s requirements for Perth require a fully custom design. This new project therefore marks a major strategic development for EV Maritime: seeing the firm step aside from vessel design altogether to focus on engineering and system integration.

The integrated electric power and propulsion package which lies at the heart of EV Maritime’s supply draws on the proven performance credentials of the EVM200 platform while also showcasing several new and exciting innovations.