The air and water are getting cleaner in yet another city as Barcelona launches the Ecocat Tres electric ferry that will carry passengers from the popular Las Ramblas district to the almost as popular Barceloneta Beach.

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While electric hydrofoiling ferries and water taxis from companies like Candela, Artemis Technologies and Vessev are making lots of headlines for new services in Stockholm, Seattle and  Wellington, New Zealand, there are also thousands of routes in other cities all over the world that can benefit from electrifying traditional displacement hull boats.

In our most recent WaVeS #26 round-up of electric boat news we highlighted how electric displacement ferries are coming to Germany and the city of Toronto, Canada. In a related item, the city of Amsterdam has now banned fossil fuel leisure boats from its canals as of April 1.

Read more about electric ferries in WaVeS #26 – March 23, 2025

The Ecocat Tres is an interesting electric ferry case because it uses the low voltage safe-to-touch propulsion system of Molabo. That is the only company in the world that makes a 50 kiloWatt (65 hp) electric motor that runs on 48 volts. Every other system requires 96 volts or more for that level of power.

Why that matters is because anything above 48 volts requires special safety training for the people who install or service the motor. Molabo’s breakthrough patented technology is called ‘ISCAD’ (Intelligent Stator Cage Drive). Instead of the copper windings found in traditional motors, Molabo uses rods to form the stator cage – the stator being the stationary part of an electric motor.

The Ecocat Tres has twin Molabo ARIES 50 kW inboard drives in a system assembled by Azimut Marine. It incorporates 36 batteries with 216 kiloWatthours of total capacity, fast chargers, and solar panels that provide up to 40% of the electric ferry’s total energy usage.

While the passengers don’t particularly notice the system, what they do notice is that their ride is almost completely silent, has next to zero vibrations compared to boats with rumbling diesel engines, and no smoke. Absolutely zero emissions of noxious fumes, odours and carbon.

This new service is part of Bus Nàutic, an initiative backed by Port de Barcelona and operated by ALSA, a private company best known for a fleet of over 6,200 buses and a network of other transportation options covering all of Spain.

The 15-meter (50 foot) aluminum catamaran was designed by Naval Architecture Marine Engineering and built by the Metaltec Naval shipyard in northern Spain’s Cantabria district. It has seating on the main deck and also on the rooftop so passengers can enjoy the views of Barcelona. 

With a top speed of 12 knots (14 mph / 22 kmh) each trip takes about 10 minutes and has a 5 minute stop at the Drassanes and Llevant wharves. It operates for at least 12 hours every day, and at lower speeds can run for up to 21 hours on a single charge.

Las Ramblas is a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard that stretches 1.2 kilometres (.75 mi) through the heart of Barcelona. It is always busy with both tourists and l ocals out sampling the myriad restaurants, boutiques and kiosks and is especially packed during the summer tourist season.

Barceloneta Beach is one of the city’s oldest and best-loved beaches, stretching about the same length as Las Ramblas along the Mediterranean. In addition to swimming and sunning it has areas for gymnastics, beach volleyball and tennis…along with dozens of bars and tapas cafes!

The electric ferry substantially reduces travel time between the popular destinations by avoiding the area’s all-too-common traffic jams. In its first three months of operation, the Bus Nàutic service has already completed more than 10,000 trips and it is estimated it will save 90 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, significantly contributing to Barcelona’s environmental goals.

Port of Barcelona president Mr. José Antonio Carbonell emphasized this, saying “The arrival of the new electric water taxi marks a meaningful step forward in our commitment to sustainability. This 100% electric, zero-emission passenger ferry is helping us reshape mobility in the port and accelerate the decarbonization of our operations.”

“Integrating our ARIES i50 motors into Barcelona’s nautical bus fleet underscores our commitment to making maritime transport quieter, cleaner, and more reliable,” said Adrian Patzak, COO at Molabo GmbH. “Our low-voltage propulsion solutions provide plenty of power for this large, heavy passenger vessel and are also easy and safe to maintain and repair. By eliminating the hassles of high-voltage electric drive systems, the Ecocat Tres has set a new benchmark for practical, economical, and sustainable urban mobility.”

Molabo  Book a trip on the Bus Nautic

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