Bristol Packet leads the way in passenger boat fleet electrification

What is your vision for Bristol Packet?  How does electrifying your fleet fit into that?

Ultimately, we need to act now to make sure that we future proof Bristol Packet and make sure it’ll still be around in 50 years time.  For us, this means a move away from diesel.  So back in 2012 we took over the running of Hydrogenesis. She was run almost like a trial and at the time she was the blueprint for how we were going to progress the fleet. It was thought back in 2012 that by now (2024), there would be infrastructure in place for hydrogen cars, buses and taxis, but it hasn’t really happened.  Hydrogen has fallen by the wayside in favour of Lithium iron phosphate batteries.  So with our next conversion, we opted to go down the battery route.

It’s really early days for this technology in the marine environment, and there are a whole host of unknowns such as; How long it will run for on a single charge?  Can we run her for a whole day on one charge?  So for that reason, we opted to retain the diesel engine to make sure we could still make full use of her this season.

We have found with our hydrogen powered boat, it is incredibly reliable.  It works by using fuel cells. Hydrogen gas passes through the fuel cell. When the hydrogen tries to bond with oxygen to create H₂O, the fuel cell collects the electrons and creates electricity.  That’s the simplest form of explaining it. We then run an electric motor with that electricity at 48v, which is quite low voltage. and it runs beautifully with very little maintenance.  You don’t have any oil or fuel filter changes, so our maintenance bills have come right down and the time spent maintaining the motors has been greatly reduced.  And it works!  Every time you turn it on, it works with no problems.

Since 2012, the battery route has become the focus, especially with cars.  There isn’t the infrastructure in place for hydrogen, yet.  Although we did have a hydrogen fuelling station, but it was only there for six months. It was just as a trial and only this boat used it. So it wasn’t much use to anyone other than us!

We hope that we will be able to use our huge wealth of experience gained from running the hydrogen boat and Redshank with lithium iron phosphate batteries, to go forward and continue to electrify our entire fleet.  Personally, I think that in the future, hydrogen will probably be the answer. But if we’re already electrified, we’re halfway there. Converting from battery to hydrogen is easy.  The hard part is converting from diesel.

What’s your main driver for electrifying your passenger boats?

Well, we know that in the future, if we don’t do something now, we won’t have a business in 10 or 15 years time. We’ve got to do something and we want to be ahead of the curve.  The experience we’ve gained puts us in a great position for the future.

You’ve got a very varied fleet.  What made you choose Redshank to electrify?

Originally, the plan was to electrify Tower Belle.  After careful consideration, we decided to switch to Redshank.  It is the original Bristol Packet boat, and layout wise, the conversion would work well.  It had a good cabin space at the back, which was perfect for creating an electric engine room. And we could easily retain the diesel engine itself to keep the boat running in the transition period.  At the moment we are switching between the electric and diesel because of teething problems from the new electric system. However the teething problems are coming to an end and as more crew are trained in the electric system we will phase out the diesel.

Can you walk us through the process of the electrifying your passenger boat, Redshank?

We worked with Lynch Motors, a British company based in Devon, who have been building electric motors for a long time.  The reason for using their electric motors is that they run on a very low voltage, 48v, making it much safer.  Other electric motors are working at huge voltages, 400v, which we didn’t want.  They’re also a local company and they’ve partnered with a Dutch company called MG that manufacture lithium iron phosphate batteries, which have a track record in passenger boat conversions in the Netherlands.

The other reason for using these batteries is that they are very stable because of the phosphate.  They’re not the same as older lithium batteries, which have a bit of a bad reputation for catching fire. These ones are almost impossible to catch fire or short out and thermal run away.

So, we bought the package; the motors and the batteries.   And then we had to work with the MCA (Maritime Coastguard Agency), which is our governing body, to get the conversion signed off.  The technology is so new that there weren’t any regulations written for passenger boats with this technology, so there has been a lot of backwards and forwards with the MCA.  Working with all the parties, we came up with a plan to put the batteries into steel container boxes with a very modern fan system called ATX fans.  They don’t spark.  So, a very safe fan that you can put inside the box to keep the batteries cool and also in the event of thermal runaway, you can flood the boxes with raw water from the dock.  It’s a very safe system in the first place, and in the event of a fire, it’s contained within the boxes.  The MCA, after a lot of risk assessments and training, are happy with it and have signed it off.

We believe it’s the first passenger boat conversion in this country.  There have been other new build boats that have been built with electric drives, but we think it’s the first conversion.  Here in the UK we are light years behind The Netherlands, where it’s mandatory for passenger boats to run on alternatives to diesel.  But we can learn a lot from them, so we can hit the ground running here in the UK!

How does the performance of the electric propulsion engine compare to your diesel engine?

The first improvement is that the passengers have a smooth, no vibrations, almost silent ride.  The noisiest thing you can hear is the water lapping against the side of the boat.  It’s a mind blowing improvement!  Performance wise, we have a similar amount of power.  It’s the range that we are still experimenting with now.  The range varies depending how hard you run the boat, and how much power is used.  So in order to maximise the range achieved, we need to use a different technique when it comes to driving the boat.  You get it up to speed slowly, and then you maintain the speed, rather than putting the throttle down straight away because that uses a lot of energy.  If all goes according to plan, we think we can run for 14 hours.  We only need to run for ten hours to solve the problem of ever using the diesel again.  The boats only run in the summer, so we aren’t worried about any range drop off in the colder temperatures – that isn’t a problem for us.

How long does it take to fully charge the batteries? And what charging infrastructure have you had to put in place?

We haven’t actually had to change our infrastructure.  We already plug the boats in at the end of the day, for example to keep fridges running.  So we can plug it in with our 16 amp socket and it’ll charge overnight, sufficient to fully charge the batteries.

Have you had any issues getting insurance for your electric passenger boat?

No, the insurance has remained the same.  We’ve chatted it through with Sean McNamara at Haven Knox-Johnston Commercial, and they are completely happy with the new set up.

How has the electrification impacted the environmental footprint of your passenger boat, Redshank? 

So there is the obvious one – fewer emissions.  We’ll be using less diesel and oil, so hopefully, the emissions will be next to zero.  Noise pollution is another thing in the city, and going electric will reduce that significantly.

How long will your batteries last before having to replace them?

We’re told they have a life cycle ten years, so fingers crossed!

What has been the reaction from passengers and the local community?

Our passengers have really enjoyed their experience when we’ve been running on electric during the trial periods.  Everyone has commented on the smooth, silent ride they’ve had.  Overall, people on the quayside and within the docks community have been incredibly positive and supportive when they hear about the conversion.  There are the odd one or two who are upset because it doesn’t have the typical chug chug sound of a narrowboat, but you can’t please everyone!  We have found that due to the silent running, it is now great for wildlife trips.  Birdlife, that previously used to fly away, now come towards the boat!

What are the operational cost savings that you’ve made since switching to electric propulsion?

It’s still early days, so it’s not easy to give you a definitive answer.  But the biggest saving will be the money spent on diesel.  And the costs of regularly maintaining our diesel engines – they require far more maintenance (oil and filter changes) than an electric engine.

How does the maintenance of an electric passenger boat compare to that of a traditional diesel powered boat?

It’s going to make it 5 or 10 times easier.  In terms of general maintenance on the engine, it’s going to be a lot easier as there is minimal maintenance in comparison to a diesel engine. With the diesel boat, you’re doing the oil changes every 250 hours, and these boats work hard in the summer!

What issues have you encountered with your electric propulsion passenger boat?

We’ve had a quite a lot of teething problems, as you can imagine, but we’re getting over them one at a time.  At the moment we are working through some gearing issues that we’ve had.  This is the reason that we’ve maintained the diesel engine, so we can still keep operating whilst working through the teething problems.  We also need to learn how the system works and what works best for the system.

Are there plans to electrify more boats in your fleet?

Definitely. I think once we’ve got this one absolutely, 100% nailed down and working correctly, and we’ve done a full season on electric, which will probably be next season, we will then be in a position to consider the investment to convert one of the other vessels in our fleet.  I think the next one would probably be the Tower Belle.

Are you thinking about putting any infrastructure in place such as solar panels?

That would be nice. If there are any grants available to help us put in the infrastructure for generating electricity, then we would be all for it.  There is also plenty of opportunity in Bristol with the huge tides that we have, to harness tidal energy.

With the ever growing focus on sustainability, do you see the electrification of boats as a growing trend in the industry?

I hope so, but I think it’s going to take a long time.  It’s a lengthy process to do the conversion, and also very expensive.  There’s an aspiration for Bristol to be carbon neutral by 2030, but there are a lot of hurdles in the way at the moment, and very little in terms of government incentive.  It won’t necessarily get any easier as the regulations come into place either.  We’re still a long way off.

What advice would you give to other boat operators considering going electric?

Start saving!

How will you approach your next conversion?

Well, we’d probably leave the diesel engine in again for the trial season.  We know we’ll have teething issues and we’ve got to keep the boats operational because we don’t want to disappoint our passengers.  Whilst we’ve learnt a huge amount from the Redshank conversion which we can carry forward, such as which motor controllers and battery management systems to use, there will be some teething issues that will be unique to each boat.

Hopefully, in the end, we will be able to remove the engines and then fill those spaces up with more batteries or possibly hydrogen tanks!

How quickly do you anticipate making a return on your investment in terms of fuel savings and maintenance costs?

That’s a tricky one – it’s going to be several years! Come back and ask me in a year’s time and I might have a better idea!

Are there any government grants or subsidies available to help businesses looking to switch?

There is government money available for innovation in marine technology.  The difficulty we’ve had in the past is that they’re very difficult to obtain. We’ve tried to go for three grants now and failed on every single one.  We know how to run boats, but we don’t know how to write grant applications and the current system is not set up for companies like ours to apply for the grants – you have to be a professional grant writer!  It would be great if they simplified the grant application process because at the moment they’re out of reach for us.

It would also make a big difference if there were tax breaks available for companies that have converted over.

What was the most rewarding aspect of converting Redshank?

When we first turned on the electric motor and the system worked!  And then we discovered how quiet it was and what a pleasant ride it produced for the passengers.  And then there was a realisation that there was a possibility that we would be able to run it for 14 hours a day.  When we realised these things, we were like, “well, this is fantastic!”.  We were very worried before that we might only be able to do 2 or 3 hours, but when we realised that it could potentially run for a whole day, we were over the moon!  The result was better than we’d expected!

What is next for Bristol packet?

Get through the rest of the season using the electric drive as much as possible. And then plan for the next conversion project!  And keep trying to keep as relevant as possible.