China's purely electric, zero-emission ferry named Xin Sheng Tai has been delivered in Shanghai and will be put into service by October end for ferrying between the city's Changxing and Hengsha islands. 

The ultracapacitor-powered ferry is 65 meters long, 14.5 meters wide and 4.3 meters deep. It can carry a maximum of 165 passengers and 30 cars at a time. 

Equipped with full rotation thrusters and supercapacitor power, the vessel has a power output of 2,000 kilowatts and a speed of 12 knots. 

It is undergoing its final checks and adjustments before the official start of operation.

"Since it is electric, the ferry emits almost no noise, and it is highly intelligent. From the bridge to the engine room, the control is centralized and fully automated," said Captain Zhang Ping. 

Due to the use of supercapacitors for charging, which enable the ship to sail for an hour only on a 15-minute charge, about 500 tonnes of fuel can be saved every year. 

"This supercapacitor has four groups of batteries and is composed of 60 capacitor modules combined. Each module has 360 single capacitor cells, and there are 21,600 single cells in total. This system can realize intelligent management and remote monitoring. If a fault occurs, the service provider can obtain data remotely, communicate with us in time and guide us to correct the fault," said Chief Engineer Xue Bing. 

The ferry will boost Shanghai's green transportation development system and provide a new pathway to achieving new-energy-powered development for inland vessels.