The first tourist boat was placed by crane into the Dijver canal in Bruges in 2019 and since then five more have started operating in the UNESCO World Heritage City. The boat is run by 20 lithium batteries housed in sealed watertight containers on the boat. The electric boats are quieter than diesel ones and cause fewer waves, which causes less damage to the quay walls. As they are run on electricity, they have no odour and don't generate emissions.
Technology used in the electric Bruges tourist boats:
- Boatbuilder: North Sea Boating
- Installation year: 2019-2020
- Boats in operation: 6
- Length overall: 9 m
- Boat beam: 2.2 m
- Electric motor system: 1 x Oceanvolt SD10 electric saildrive motor
- Electric motor nominal power: 10 kW
- Electric motor system voltage: 48 V