Marell Develops Hybrid Interceptor in Partnership with Scania
Marell Boats and Scania Power Solutions have jointly announced the development of a next generation sustainable and technologically advanced vessel, the M17 Patrol, a sustainable and state-of-the-art vessel to meet the increased demand for hybrid solutions.
Scania and Marell say the M17 Patrol will be the most energy efficient hybrid high-speed craft in the commercial market when it will be launched later in 2022. This is enabled by the combination of Scania’s new hybrid technology, alongside Marell’s technical boatbuilding craftmanship. Overall, this is a major step towards environmentally friendly vessels as well as an important stepping-stone towards full electrification of commercial craft.
Marell Boats is a world-leading high-performance vessel design and engineering company with focus on commercial customers. Scania is a world-leading provider of transport solutions driving the shift towards a sustainable transport system. This partnership between the two will cover development, testing, and marketing, with the objective of leading the shift towards a sustainable maritime transport system.
The pair say that operators, police, military, and other government bodies are requesting high-performance boats with hybrid drive systems that can operate at high speeds during long distance transits with low environmental impact. The same boat should also be able to operate quietly, efficiently, and environmentally friendly in ports, during patrolling missions, in offshore windfarms operations and during sightseeing tours. The Marell M17 series with hybrid solution fulfils all these needs.
“The new M17 Scania Hybrid offers all the capabilities and functions that you can expect from Scania, i.e., electrification and a combustion engine that can run on renewable fuels,” says Torben Dabrowski, Global e-Mobility Sales Development. He explains further, “When we are developing Scania’s future hybrid and full electric power systems, the conclusion is that these can be highly beneficial in many different applications, for example a powertrain with instant response, exceptional torque and seamless transitions.”
The M17 is based on Marell’s successful and proven M15 platform that was awarded the “Interceptor of the year” by the Baird publication, both 2019 and 2020. The M15 platform was selected as a patrol vessel by the Marine Police in Stockholm and as a fire fighter craft by the Greater Stockholm Fire Department, as well as a sightseeing boat by Hurtigruten Svalbard.
“We started with a blank sheet of paper five years ago, to develop the most efficient hull in the market with ground-breaking performance, incl. speed, maneuverability and energy efficiency,” says Patrik Söderholm, founder and CEO of Marell Boats. He further adds, “We are excited about our partnership with Scania where we together are developing the next generation hybrid and high-performing crafts. Moreover, we want to meet the high demand locally and internationally for vessels with hybrid solutions.”
Marell and Scania will have its first M17 Patrol with hybrid driveline in operation in the second half of 2022. The vessel will be promoted in Sweden and internationally at commercial shows as well as events. It will also be used for extensive testing of the hybrid system in rough sea conditions and at high speeds exceeding 55 knots.
With this interceptor, Marell aim to create a successful and technologically advanced platform to produce high-performance hybrid craft with long-range. The M17 Patrol with hybrid driveline will soon be available to commercial customers.