Danfoss on board fully electric workboat

We are in Grovfjord – North of the Arctic Circle. Here, as in the rest of Norway’s fjords, salmon farming is a motor in the local economy. Locals have grown accustomed to eyeing the circular sea cages where the salmon are raised – just like people living in country farmland see barns or grain silos almost as part of the natural scenery.

But now something stands out – not so much to the eye as to the ear. It’s the new workboat used by the fish farming company, Northern Lights Salmon. The boat makes no sound when its crew take off in the morning to tend their salmon. All you hear, is the noise of the water hitting the bow.  

And this marks quite a difference compared to earlier when a loud knock echoed through the air as crew ignited the diesel engines. When they sailed off, there was also the traditional cluttering diesel-engine sound – almost as if an old truck was driving on the fjord.

There are no longer any diesel fumes on deck either. For crew, the fumes could be quite annoying – particularly if the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. Now, there is just clean air.  

54-year-old Chairman of Northern Lights Salmon Søren Balteskard ­has known fish farming since the age of nine when his dad founded the family business. And according to him, fully electric work boats will play a key role in the industry’s future.  

“Electric boats are perfect for fish farming. The lack of engine noise is not only an advantage for the crew, but also for the salmon. It actually reduces stress levels in the fish. And the environmental benefits are obvious. This is key for us. Our aim has always been to run our business in as green a way as possible.”  

The disadvantages? According to Søren, there really aren’t any. Electric boats are easy to maneuver and go from zero to full speed extremely fast. And the typical concern about lack of charging possibilities during long-distance sailing is not a problem because fish farms are located close to shore.

“We can use Astrid Helene for a whole workday and still have about 45 percent power left when we return to shore. Charging is easy, too. We simply plug her to the grid overnight. And the next morning, she is fully charged – at only a fraction of what it costs to fill up the tank in one of our diesel boats.”  

Astrid Helene is packed with heavy equipment, including a crane that can carry several tons and an electric winch to haul nets that can hold 12 tons of salmon. Still, it moves silently through the water at up to 10 knots, 18.5 km/h. 

Three types of components make it happen: A 4 m3 lithium-ion battery-pack, two electrical propulsion motors, and seven drives. The battery and the propulsion motors provide the muscle power. Between them sit the seven drives. They function as the nerves controlling the amount of electricity – or power – pulled out of the battery-pack and into the electric propulsion motors.

Anders Breines, Lead Electrical Engineer at Grovfjord Mekaniske Verksted, says:

“The drives are really key components. All electricity – every single kilowatt used on the boat – passes through them. And we are not only talking electricity for the propulsion motors, but for all electric equipment – all the way down to the coffee machine.”