Hybrid power vessels gain in popularity

摘要

The Australian company Solar Sailor develops, with German funding, high-tech ships with hybrid power supplies. So far the technology has resulted in a catamaran ferry being successfully operated in Sydney since 2000, and two solar-powered trimarans are on order for delivery in 2008. In this article Volker Bertram ENSIETA, from the department of mechanical engineering, Stellenbosch University, discusses the developing use of hybrid power supplies on vessels.