Fassmer designs all-electric aluminium vessel for Oldenburg Institute’s Aerospace Centre, Germany

Headquartered in Germany, Fassmer has created a brand new electric aluminium vessel under the order of the Oldenburg Institute of Systems Engineering for Future Mobility of the German Aerospace Centre (Deutsche Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR). The 8m long customised aluminium boat has been crafted to adhere to the specifications of the research project.

The water vessel is exceptionally agile, and due to its lightweight aluminium construction, it can easily tread the ocean or lake waters. Under the given specifications, the aluminium boat can be furnished with special sensory modules that permit the vessel to be controlled, particularly from the shore, to inspect berthing manoeuvres.

Moreover, aligned with the idea of creating autonomous shipping technology, the vessel will be put through field trails with advanced regulations which would identify the simulation of navigational properties of boats. The aluminium boat would educate the institute in real-time, as all the previous tests had been conducted virtually. 

The research committee selected aluminium as the raw material because of its lightweight and anti-corrosive characteristics. Moreover, as a building material, aluminium is cost-effective, and it helped to lessen the project cost for the researchers while keeping the sustainability factor in mind.

Fassmer’s aluminium boat has all-electric propulsion and two azimuthing pod drives that let the boat turn on its length. It has been equipped with two 12kWh batteries, which can assure the rider of more than two hours of continuous acceleration consisting of six knots.

The wheelhouse has an area for four people with assorted workstations, tools compartments and an electronics board. This setup can be beneficial for one-day trips on the waters of the North and Baltic Seas.