The State government has sought inclusion of water transport projects, including the ₹750-crore Water Metro, in the Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME-2) scheme, so that electric boats can get incentives similar to those available for electric buses, three and four-wheelers used for commercial purposes.
This comes in the wake of deliberations at Evolve, Kerala’s first electric-vehicle summit, that concluded here on Sunday.
Ferries were hitherto out of the purview of FAME-2, which has an outlay of ₹10,000 crore for three years, ending 2022. Financial support would be offered depending on the size of the lithium-ion battery.
“Inclusion of the Water Metro project in the scheme will be a great advantage for Kerala. Both the State government and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (which will implement the Water Metro) will take this up with NITI Aayog,” said sources associated with the project.
Kerala’s State Water Transport Department (SWTD) has taken the lead in introducing the first solar-powered ferry in India.
SWTD fleet
A solar-powered cruise boat and a roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) vessel will follow suit to join the SWTD’s fleet. Hybrid boats too were in the offing, sources said.
LTO batteries
The first lot of 23 ferries that will be procured under the Water Metro project will use Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) batteries. They are more advanced and effective than lithium-ion batteries. Though costlier, the life-cycle cost of LTO batteries is lesser than that of lithium-ion ones. They charged faster, had better range and need be replaced only after 35,000 cycles of recharging, they added.
Under FAME, the Centre will also invest in setting up charging stations, with the active participation of both public sector units and private players. FAME India is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.
