The project that wants to be reality in 2027

The minimum separation between Spain and Morocco in the Gibraltar Strait is just 14 kilometers. Such a small space to save that for years there has been talk of Build a tunnel to join Europe with Africa. In fact, the space between the two countries is so concise that they are common helicopter journeys as an alternative to ferry.

It has logic for those who want or need Jump between continents as quickly as possible. Although, obviously, the most economical option and used by most people remains the ferry. Only in the 2024 Strait Paso Operation The displacement of 3.4 million people in just three months was recorded, which meant 12,012 ship rotations.

With the aim of offering a cleaner alternative, Baleària has announced which will have two electric ferries to save the distance between Tarifa and Tangier, since they have been made with a contract of 15 million euros awarded by the Port Authority Bay of Algeciras (APBA).

If they get to fruition, we will have in Spain the first intercontinental corridor operated by electric ferries.

An electric ferry that will also transform the ports

The project, which was presented in Fitur a few days ago, will serve to move 804 passengers and 225 cars thanks to its 25 meters of manga. This journey will be made without issuing CO2, since it will only be moved by electric motors with a total power of 16 MW. These propellers will start the power of batteries of 11,500 kWh (11.5 MWh) capacity.

To make us a better idea, electric cars with greater capacity batteries move in the 100 kWh so we are talking about these electric ferries will carry inside the same batteries as 115 vehicles large.

These batteries will be removable by robots that can place the energy accumulators on the ship once it is reached to port. The project contemplates the transformation of the tariff and tangier ports for recharges the batteries that are then used by the ferries.

It is about creating a space with a power of 5 MW in rate and 8 MW in Tangier to recharge the huge batteries of 8 MWh. It is estimated that in just 40 minutes the necessary batteries can be recharged to be able to make the next journey again. Among the batteries that are being used and recharged while the ship moves, 39 MWh will be available in electricity

The set will have the possibility to move at a speed of up to 26 knots (just over 48 km/h) and will have Four diesel engines (with total power of 11,200 kW) to deal with the possible problems that may arise in the almost 30 kilometers of journey (18 miles).

The company already has experience in the construction of electric ferries. In fact, Baleària has active one of them between Ibiza and Formentera although in this case it is a much smaller size. With capacity for 390 passengers and 14 trucks carry out four daily exits per direction.

Photo | Baleària

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