Case Study: Bringing electric ferries to the Hauraki Gulf

Who

McMullen and Wing

Awarded

$40,000

In May 2019, shipyard and boat building company McMullen and Wing obtained GIFT funding to support a business case to ferry provider Fullers, for electric ferries in the inner Hauraki Gulf. The funding enabled consultancy PwC’s input to the business case, assisting 25 year financial modelling of electric as opposed to diesel ferries. The modelling found that while the upfront cost of building an electric ferry is currently higher, the return on investment for electric ferries far exceeds diesel ferries (they pay themselves off faster). In collaboration with Fullers, a vessel format has been designed which can deliver the majority of Auckland’s ferry services, and the energy demands of those operations and the recharge regime required to support the services have been evaluated. For Michael Eaglen, Chief Executive Officer of McMullen and Wing, New Zealand has the potential to be leaders in bringing electric fast ferries to the world:

““So far, other electric fast ferries operating overseas are all trial boats, not commercial fleets. Being able to show a commercial fleet in an integrated public transport network will be extremely powerful for breaking down barriers and demonstrating true viability””

The impact of GIFT funding “Made a huge difference to getting Fullers on board. PwC has access to graphics, levels of analysis, tools and modelling that are compelling to decision makers”. The funding allowed the work to be done faster, however the greatest and most unexpected reported benefit of receiving support from GIFT was “the sense of someone believing in us, the vote of confidence. When you start these things it’s quite a brave step”.

The electric ferry technology is the innovation in this project. Michael notes that in New Zealand, more funding and advisory support for innovation is needed, especially in green technologies. Valuing building capability to innovate locally is also required, rather than looking overseas to multinationals for products and innovation development. He notes that government and company procurement processes could be used far more powerfully than at present, to ensure that New Zealand benefits from designing and building products that are good for people and the planet.

“PWC gave credibility to the work, having them on the team was powerful when presenting the business case to Fullers.”

This business case and the work of McMullen and Wing on introducing electric ferries to the Hauraki Gulf is reportedly influencing the thinking of Auckland Transport towards electric ferries, and growing leadership potential in this space for Fullers. Local iwi Ngāti Whatua have also expressed interested in the electric ferries.

Key challenges have been how to ensure appropriate charging stations for electric batteries and gaining resource for research and development. Some in the industry are also still very attached to diesel based provision.

In terms of impact on mauri from this project – for the Hauraki Gulf this relates to the benefits of electric over diesel ferries (fewer emissions, fossil fuel use, noise, risk of contamination and so on). For the people involved, this work has reportedly been invigorating and inspiring to be a part of, as electric ferries represent step change and a new paradigm.

“New Zealand thinks it’s innovative to buy
someone else’s electric car and import it
from Korea. We used to think of ourselves as
an innovative country, now we receive other
people’s stuff. It’s not great to import
everything, it’s also not good for national
pride. We need to think much bigger. We
can be world leaders, this kind of work helps
build a nation.”

This work has helped to build a closer and more collaborative relationship between McMullen and Wing and Fullers. It has also reportedly led to both parties looking more holistically at how to develop a solution that has the best environmental, social and economic outcomes.

The Americas Cup was the initial driver for this work for McMullen and Wing, who wanted to use the profile of the Americas Cup for the New Zealand marine industry to showcase something more than super yachts. The aim is to get an electric ferry prototype built and ready to trial by the time of the Americas Cup or APEC, in 2021, though political and funding processes will influence timeframes.

The immediate focus is on gaining resourcing for the next phase of research and development, relating to preproduction of the first electric ferry prototype. For Michael: “The opportunity now is for New Zealand to develop an industry of global significance. We can be out there decarbonising the harbour cities of the world”.

To take this process to the next stage, Michael Eaglen and the owners of McMullen & Wing have established a new business, EV Maritime, which is 100% focused on the development of these new electric ferries, from the strong baseline which started at McMullen & Wing.

“The opportunity to be part of something big is really huge, it has inspired me to stay in the marine industry and move from being an employee to investing personally in this business. It has also been exhausting, an emotional roller coaster, something you believe so passionately in and it’s so frustrating when people don’t get it but so rewarding when they do. ”

— Michael Eaglen