Niagara Falls tour operator leads industry toward all-electric future

摘要

Buffalo earned the "City of Light" nickname more than a century ago as an early beneficiary of the electricity generated from nearby Niagara Falls. The iconic Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist tour company made history of its own last fall when it took delivery of the first zero-emission passenger vessels built in the United States. The 90.5-foot aluminum catamarans James V. Glynn and Nikola Tesla run entirely on electricity stored in lithium-ion batteries within each hull. The battery banks power Ramme electric motors driving Veth L-drives and Naiad Dynamics bow thrusters. ABB engineered the electric power management system and supplied critical components, including shoreside charging infrastructure that can replenish the batteries in seven minutes.