Andrea Cedillo and Nils Jutblad Castro Molinero presents their master’s thesis

Student: Andrea Cedillo and Nils Jutblad
Main Supervisor: Fayas Malik Kanchiralla
Examiner: Selma Brynolf
Opponent: Juan Pablo Ramírez and Gustav Dahlberg

Abstract of thesis

The shipping industry currently stands for around 3 % of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and is predicted to increase its emissions significantly until 2050 unless mitigation efforts are made. For shorter routes and smaller vessels, electrification has been identified as a promising method of decarbonisation. In this study, a techno-economic and environmental assessment framework was used in order to analyze the cost and environmental effects of electrifying public transport ferries operating on the Göta Älv river in Gothenburg. Four different electrification scenarios were constructed based on information obtained from literature and interviews with relevant stakeholders. For these scenarios, the results suggest that three out of four would have lower costs than the baseline. The lowest cost of ownership was observed when optimizing the on-board battery capacity by deposition charging several times during the day, yielding a cost decrease of ca. 8 %. As for the environmental calculations, the results indicate a possible decrease of about 77-90 % of greenhouse gas emissions in the electrification scenarios, with zero emissions of NOx, SO2 and particulate matter (PM) on a local level. The scenarios showing the largest mitigation potential utilized wireless opportunity charging which allows for a significant decrease in on-board battery capacity compared to the baseline, thereby reducing upstream emissions from battery production. Overall, the study shows that there are positive environmental and cost effects of fully electrifying the Göta Älv ferries, which could act as inspiration for decision makers within waterborne public transport.