Introducing the ElectRA Series of Battery Electric Tugs

July 9, 2021

by Mike Phillips, P.Eng.

With the recent announcement (www.ral.ca/news) of the HaiSea Marine tug fleet, our industry gained its first glimpse of Robert Allan’s Ltd.’s recent work in an electrifying new field, that of battery electric tugboats and their potential to significantly reduce or even eliminate exhaust emissions in ports. Robert Allan Ltd.’s latest entry is a trio of zero-emissions ElectRA 2800 harbour tugs to serve the LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat, BC, Canada. With clean hydroelectric power available from the local grid, these tugs’ generous battery capacity will allow them to perform a majority or perhaps even all missions on battery power alone, demonstrating the exciting potential of leveraging battery technology to realize near complete elimination of CO2 and other potentially harmful exhaust emissions from harbour tug operations.

Each of the three ElectRA 2800 are expected to eliminate approximately 1,700 tonnes of CO2 per annum, thus resulting in total annual savings in excess of 5,000 tonnes compared to even the cleanest modern diesel-powered alternatives. This roughly equates to the carbon emissions of nearly 1,000 cars, which is a remarkable feat in the context of a relatively diminutive port, and again illustrative of the possibilities for some of the world’s busiest marine hubs.

With this in mind, and in response to promising enquiries, Robert Allan Ltd. has been busy expanding the ElectRA series to include variants of different sizes, bollard pulls, and installed battery capacities for a multitude of potential applications. As with any new propulsion or energy storage capacity, there are both significant opportunities and challenges, but the ElectRA 2800 for HaiSea Marine are illustrative of the maturation and rapidly increasing appeal of the technology. No longer simply interesting demonstrations, battery electric tugs such as the ElectRA series are poised to play a major role in our industry’s important contribution to reducing emissions of both greenhouse gasses and other airborne emissions. We are as excited as anyone to be a part of this worthy endeavour, and to share the next entries in our already rapidly expanding battery electric vessel portfolio. For more information on this electrifying new series, please visit www.ral.ca/series/electra/.