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ABB Group, the Swedish-Swiss multinational headquartered in Zurich that operates in the robotics, power and automation technology fields, has announced that it will supply complete power and propulsion systems for two vessels in the HH Ferries Group.

HH Ferries Group owns and operates the route between Helsingborg in Sweden and Helsingor in Denmark, under the trademark Scandlines Helsingborg-Helsingor. It offers departures every fifteen minutes and transports up to 50,000 passengers and 9,000 cars on a daily basis.

The two ferries, Tycho Brahe and Aurora, will operate completely on battery power between the two ports, a distance of approximately 4 kilometres. The new battery solution will help lower emissions by more than 50 percent compared to the current diesel operated vessels.

With a combined battery power of 8,320 kilowatt hours (kWh) for the two ferries - the equivalent to 10,700 car batteries - these will now become the world's largest emission-free electric ferries.

The modernisations to the ferries, which will cost SEK 300 million and are co-financed by INEA, the EU’s executive agency for innovation and network, will utilise turnkey solutions from ABB including batteries, an energy storage control system and onboard DC Grid technology. At either end of the route connection to automated shore stations will be managed by an ABB supplied robot so as to maximize the charging period.

The new charging stations will feature ABB's IRB 7600 industrial robot which is reliable in harsh conditions, offers a combination of fast cycle speeds for rapid working and high torque for weighty applications. It has a proven track record having been in service since 2001.

All pre-docking procedures are based on 3D laser scanning and wireless communication between ship and shore.

"This order goes to the very core of what we do at ABB," says Juha Koskela, Managing Director of ABB's Marine and Ports business unit. "These are highly innovative solutions in line with our Next Level strategy, improving the efficiency while lowering the environmental impact."

The ABB Group operates in 100 countries and employs 135,000 people and considers this order to be a significant milestone in the maritime passenger segment. "The ferry services across Scandinavia and the Nordic region are leading the world in terms of progressive environmentally friendly solutions," said Koskela.

HH Ferries has a stated strategy to actively safeguard the environment. The ferry company has voluntarily adhered since 2007 to emission regulations that didn’t come into force until 2015.

"In this context we are very pleased that we together with ABB and with proven technology and in an innovative way, have been able to create a new set up to retain our position as a highly efficient high capacity route," says chief executive officer Henrik Rorbaek, HH Ferries Group. "From an environmental point, we invest responsibly in tomorrow's technology solutions leading towards a greener future."

Following completion of this project HH Ferries will analyse results and consider if and how the other vessels in its fleet of five on the Oresund route can be modified to fit into the company's green profile.