by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 2:10 PM ET, Tue March 25, 2025
Hurtigruten is making progress on its zero-emission ship.
The company recently completed a new phase of model testing at SINTEF Ocean’s facilities in Trondheim, Norway. It has released an updated ship design based on the testing, which involved a 26-foot model ship.
“The model tests and analyses performed so far show encouraging results towards reducing the energy demand to the degree needed to enable zero emission operation,” says Anders Alterskjær, research manager at SINTEF Ocean.
With the project, called “Sea Zero,” Hurtigruten aims to build the world’s most energy-efficient cruise ship by 2030. Experts are testing a variety of innovations, including large battery packs, retractable sails, air lubrication systems, contra-rotating propellers and an energy-optimised hull. Partners on the project include SINTEF, Vard Design, DNV, Brunvoll, Plug, Corvus Energy and others.
“We are learning a lot from these tests, and we now see that many of the ambitious goals in this project can also be implemented in practice,” says Gerry Larsson-Fedde, chief operating officer at Hurtigruten. “For each round we make changes to optimize the design.”
The updated ship design is now longer, lower and more stable, with two large retractable sails with solar panels. Testing confirmed that the sails alone could reduce energy consumption by 10 to 15 percent. At 470 feet (143.5 meters), the ship would be Hurtigruten’s longest vessel to date.
Hurtigruten is aiming to cut energy usage by between 40 and 50 percent, compared to existing ships. When coupled with batteries charged by shore power, that reduction could make it possible for Hurtigruten to sail without emissions during normal operations on the Norwegian coast.
“With the reduction in energy use we’re aiming for, it’s realistic to fit a battery system with enough energy to allow the ship to sail between charging ports under normal weather conditions,” says Trond Johnsen, the Sea Zero project manager.
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