Lifts above water and runs on 100% clean fuel — Meet Nova, the Swedish end of hydrogen
This transportation technology may mean hydrogen developments will take a back seat. In the transportation sector, the rise in alternative engine technology has been substantial as the world grapples with searching for solutions to the world's energy crisis by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. In the transportation sector, particularly in the automobile world, the solution to this crisis has been the introduction of the electric engine, with other alternative engine solutions left to compete for dominance as the next best alternative.
The rise in electric and hydrogen engine solutions
With the world needing to address critical concerns pertaining to our overconsumption and unsustainable use of fossil fuels, renewable energy solutions have risen in development over the past two decades.
In the passenger vehicle world, this has seen the rise of the electric engine, with the hybrid-electric vehicle being the most popular electric vehicle model among consumers globally. With the electric vehicle's rapid rise to fame, automobile developers have looked at other solutions to offer consumers to compete with the success of the electric engine, more specifically, as a means to compete with powerhouse electric vehicle developers such as Tesla. Out of this development of other alternative engines, the hydrogen fuel-cell engine has become something of a complement to electric engine technologies.
While not as popular as the electric engine in the passenger vehicle world, the hydrogen fuel-cell engine remains an important development for the transportation world, particularly for sectors in the transportation industry that cannot make use of the electric engine due to battery longevity and capacity concerns, such as the aviation industry. These developments mean that the transportation industry does not put all its eggs into one basket, and instead has multiple ways to achieve carbon-neutrality and other climate objectives in order to ensure that a sustainable future for the Earth remains not only a priority but is a guarantee. [1]
New Swedish development to compete with hydrogen
While hydrogen fuel-cell developments are fast rising as second-in-command to electric vehicles, this innovative transportation technology from Sweden demonstrates that there are still other solutions on the rise. The Candela P-12 Nova recently returned to the Swedish public transportation system, a ferry that is the world's first electric hydrofoil. The ferry has been a game-changer for Swedish transportation, allowing sustainable transportation between the islands of the country's major city, Stockholm.
The ferry reportedly reduces carbon emissions by 95% and energy consumption by 84% per passenger-kilometer compared to traditional diesel ferries. The ferry is also an example of how sustainable transportation is not just about developing new engine solutions but also providing increased public transport to reduce the number of private passenger vehicles.
"Nova is drawing commuters to the other vessels as well. That's especially exciting, since one of our goals is to show that with fast, comfortable waterborne transport, we can get car commuters to switch to waterborne transport," said Gustav Hasselskog, CEO and founder of Candela.
Major developments continue in the transportation industry
With major advancements being turned out each year by both major transportation stakeholders as well as private start-ups, the transportation sector is poised on the brink of a major revolution in phasing out fossil fuels.
However, the biggest challenge the industry faces is changing and scaling up the supporting infrastructure to support these engine developments in order to make the technology more widespread.
This will require active participation not only from stakeholders in the industry, but also significant investment from governments in order to transform cities to have more sustainable transport.
Sweden, along with other Scandinavian countries[2], has been influential in demonstrating this type of commitment from policymakers, highlighting how the road to sustainability is a collaborative process that needs every industry to play its part in the journey.
References
- ^ remains not only a priority but is a guarantee. (www.eldiario24.com)
- ^ along with other Scandinavian countries (www.eldiario24.com)