On 2 January 2024, Penguin International Limited in Singapore brought fully online its Electric Dream project, which comprises three pure electric ferries, three rapid shore chargers and three autonomous charging jibs.
Electric Dream is a private commuter ferry service that shuttles more than 3,000 passengers a day, at speeds of up to 21 knots, between Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal and Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park on the island of Pulau Bukom.
During peak-hour runs, the rapid DC shore chargers take less than 8 minutes to recharge the 1.2 MWh batteries by 400 kWh per ferry. That’s 3C charging at sea in real life!
Earlier in 2023, Penguin commissioned Singapore’s first pure electric seagoing ship, Penguin Refresh – the first of three 200-pax Electric Dream ferries – which has since been joined by sister vessels, Penguin Recharge and Penguin Renewable.
Electric Dream will eliminate more than 6,000 tons of CO2 annually from the skies over Singapore. That is the yearly emission from three conventional ferries plying the same route.
Penguin is the turnkey designer, builder, owner and operator of the Electric Dream ferries and charging infrastructure.
Their client-partner is Shell Singapore Pte Ltd and project partners included Incat Crowther, Razor Blunt Labs, Danfoss, Zinus AS and Gema Engineering.
Pulau Bukom, Penguin’s Executive Chairman Jeffrey Hing said, “This project presented itself as a bold challenge against all that was conventional and comfortable in our local maritime industry.”
“For us, this was going to be our most substantial and most profound investment ever in a single project.”
Electric Dream was privately conceptualised and privately funded.
