Sapa's Urban Water Shuttle project is a high-speed passenger ferry made of aluminium

The world leading aluminium extrusions manufacturer and downstream technology provider Sapa announced updates of its project Urban Water Shuttle that aims to realize a zero-emission and high-speed passenger ferry made of aluminium. Named- the Tesla of the Seas, the aluminium ferry project is being developed at the Fjellstrand shipyard in Norway along with the cluster NCE Maritime CleanTech West and the Shapes.

The Norwegian aluminium companies Hydro and Sapa are supplying aluminium structural components for the project. On completion, the aluminium cruise boat will be tested in the Norwegian waters and then exported to other countries to explore the opportunity of making public transport green the world over.


According to the Shapes, the market for environmentally friendly technology is still immature in many segments and part of that has to do with the lack of regulations. There are other gaps, too, like lack of finance, lack of infrastructure for new fuels, and also more institutional barriers, where decision makers and the contractual regime in the industry only consider investment costs and not operational costs. The main strategy behind this collaboration is strengthening the cluster partners’ competitiveness, and to boost innovation in aluminium usage.

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The Urban Water Shuttle is going to be built in low weight aluminium and propelled using the latest hybrid technologies, a combination of fuel cells and battery power. The project objectives are reduced urban congestion, reduced emissions and reduced city infrastructure costs. This vessel could be realized in cities located close to water and waterways. It perfectly fits the European Union's zero emission goals and is sure to find relevance in many global cities.