400 miles of InterScandinavian EV travel now possible with Stena Line

[Electric Aid]

ElectricAid & Norstart is pleased to inform you that with a little help from ferry operator Stena Line, you can now venture of with your EV between some of the borders of Scandinavia without any more hassle than if you where to travel with an ICE car.


It is quite normal to use ferries if your visiting Denmark with your car from Norway. These trips are often made over night to save fuel on the ferries and it makes for a comfortable way to travel. The time consumed on a trip makes it ideal for a normal slow-charge of an EV and that is why Stena Line is announcing that they will offer EV charging on their route from Oslo, Norway to Frederikshavn, Denmark. We where lucky enough to get the honor of the first trip.

-Two and a half cents per mile? That is just unbelievable!

The paint of the new EV sign on deck is just about dry and we have arrived at the deck of Stena Saga. The crew is very impressed of the economy of driving an EV and after plugging the car in for a charge, the conversation start flowing over the vehicle, a Think City. For the people who are in charge of the electricity on the ship, it must be a fun thing to see a car that runs on their line of expertise and the curiosity of the crew can be well seen in our image gallery at the bottom of the article.

After a little while the conversation shifts to the possibilities in regard to the range of an EV when combining it with a ferry. As shown below, you could potentially travel all the way from the Olympic city of Lillehammer, all the way down to the town of Grenaa in Denmark, a trip of over 408 miles, with more or less the same ease that a ICE driver would experience. From Grenaa you could take the ferrie over to Varberg, Sweden which is just a short drive from Gothenborg

400 Miles of EV travel:

Time flies by fast when you are talking about a subject that engages you and before we know it, the deck has to close so the trip can begin. We then head over to the restaurant for an excellent meal and as you can se from the image below, I am probably not the most sophisticated fellow in the world when it comes to holding a wineglass:

After our meal we got the opportunity to meet the Captain on the bridge of the ship. He was very happy about the new and green offering of his company and I was very happy to get to see all the gizmos that is required to navigate the 160 meter vessel. A win win =)

After our quick talk on the bridge we went down to our quarters for a good nigh sleep. The next day we woke up fully rested, ready to embark on our journey to the town of Grenaa where my almost in-laws lives. We figured that since we had an EV with us down there we might as well show it of the Mayor and press down there and you can read about how that went in our next post in a few days. Also the trip was 174 km in a 180km range vehicle, just to leave you with a cliffhanger

Complete Gallery from the trip:


Find more photos like this on Electric A!D

[Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield]

Awesome story. I'd love to have you on a Saturday episode of EVcast to talk about this great trip and experiences. Now, if I could get charging on the ferry to France from the UK I could take my EV on holiday to the continent! :)

Well done!

Nikki.

[Kristian Amlie]

Great story! The "why is it taking so long" argument got me into buying the only car that was available to order and at reasonable prices. I got a Buddy (www.elbilnorge.no) I did a minitrip like that from Bergen to Haugesund. Only 120 km, but out of reach for my Buddy (40 -80 km) I sent the car with Fjordline ( I got a special price when they saw the size :-) ). They still offer to transport a car from Bergen to Stavanger, but as cargo. You can go to Denmark with the car and I called today about charging the car. There is power on board for trailers and maybe for EVs as well. I'll check tomorrow.

[Kenneth Webster]

I have taken the ferry from Kristiansand in Norway to Hirtshals in Denmark before. I asked if I could charge some on the return journey and had to get permission from the Chief Engineer. They were kind enough to run out an extension cable for me. He seemed quite knowledgable about SAFT NiCds which are used in all sorts of back-up applications. Time for a proper charging station now after Stena have shown the way forward.

[George A. Klein]

I own a 1987 Toyota Celica Convertible. Years ago, I promised myself it would be the LAST "gasoline only" powered car I ever owned and as long as it doesn't die on me over the next year or two, it will be my last "gas only" car. I will buy from whoever brings their alternative vehicle to market first. I will buy the Chevy Volt or the Nissan Leaf or the Toyota "Plug-in" Prius or the Think Ox. Whoever is FIRST will get my business! Why is it taking SO LONG???

[birger]

Awesome story Leif! :) Great pictures, especially the first one!

[Carsten Aniksdal]

Impressive, most impressive!

[Mich]

Do they charge extra for the charging or is it included in the ticket price?

[Speculawyer]

Visit Legoland with an EV! Yeah! :-)

[Ron Lundgren Jr]

I live in Syracuse, NY and feel the same way. I had to buy a new 2009 MINI Cooper S convertible for 3 years while I wait for an affrodable electric car in the US.

[George A. Klein]

That's terrific!!!

I live in Atlanta, GA and I want an electric car SO badly!
Unfortunately, the oil companies in America have such a monopoly over consumer choice.
It's just ridiculous.........