India's First Solar Ferry- Aditya - Wins The Prestigious Gustave Trouve Award

In a proud moment for our country, especially Kerala, India¡¯s first solar-powered ferry ¡®Aditya¡¯ has won the prestigious Gustave Trouve Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating. ¡®Aditya¡¯ commenced operations three years ago.

The citation reads, ¡®The Aditya, from Navalt Boats, is a sun-powered commuter ferry that is one of the great stories of the future of electric marine propulsion. Every day, she makes 22 trips with 75 people on board ¨C that¡¯s 5,80,000 people a year ¨C and the charging cost to top up the batteries is $2.60 a day ¨C preventing the burning of 58,000 litres of diesel and saving $4,612,000- $65,000 a year¡¯.

State Water Transport Department/Kerala.gov.in

Gustave Trouv¨¦ was a French electrical engineer and pioneer in electric cars and boats and the award is instituted in his name. Aditya won the award over five other finalists from European countries in the public transport category.

"It is a proud moment for the state. Aditya was the only ferry from Asia among the 12 vessels from across the globe shortlisted for the award. It entered the finals with five other contestants in the first week of July through public voting. We are thankful to the state government for giving us the opportunity to build Aditya. We are also in the process of making five more Adityas, which will be handed over to the government by the end of this year," TNIE quoted Sandith Thandasherry, Founder CEO, NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats sa saying.

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State Water Transport Department/Kerala.gov.in

Aditya, the ferry is operational between Thavanakadavu in Alappuzha and Vaikom in Kottayam district. It comes equipped with ultra-modern facilities like eco-sounder, GPS, hydraulic steering, automatic pump to remove water from the haul among other things. The Department of Ship Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology designed the award winning ferry.

A proud moment for the Kerala startup ecosystem as the Aditya Solar Ferry has won the First 'Gussies' electric boat awards, the world's only international awards exclusively for electric boats.#Kerala #KSUM #Boats #ElectricBoats #award #Gussies #Gustave #Solar @NavaltBoats pic.twitter.com/oL7JI5vCBC

¡ª Kerala Startup Mission (@startup_mission) July 27, 2020

Aditya¡¯s achievement over its European counterparts will give a hope to startup companies. Kerala Startup Mission tweeted about the same - ¡®A proud moment for the Kerala startup ecosystem as the Aditya Solar Ferry has won the First 'Gussies' electric boat awards, the world's only international award exclusively for electric boats¡¯.

Also Read: Watch How This Made-in-India Car Won Global NCAP's First Ever 'Safer Choice' Award

State Water Transport Department/Kerala.gov.in

Governments should find a way to fund promising startups because it's designs and concepts like Aditya that will lead our country to a sustainable future.