alt Hacker NewsAs a crazy thought: On predictable routes in shallow enough water, implement an underwater power source similar in function (if not physically similar) to overhead electric bus/trolley power lines? The boats would move along their routes with a cable running down to to a connector that slides along the power source.
I'm imagining channels in a busy waterway or a regular ferry route. Of course it needs economy of scale, but at that point everyone saves on batteries, etc. Unless there are submarines, I don't know what would pass under the boat and cut the connection.
Maybe watercraft usage or routes aren't predictable enough? Maybe the sliding connector is too expensive underwater, especially in sea water.
Replies
You don’t need that - if you’re doing short routes you can push enough power into batteries during docking for the next voyage.
Example (7 minute charge time):
https://global.abb/group/en/technology/did-you-know/maid-of-...
The maintenance of these power points would be astronomical, even if the basic theory could work, which I'm not 100% sure of. You'd have a single high-voltage cable, a pickup pantograph that wraps around the cable acting like a transformer that wheels along the cable, and AC current in the cable with the water itself being the ground reference. I can't imagine any other way it could work.
I had always imagined a system of autonomous submarines that function as tugboats along popular routes and then container ships would just function as barges that are hauled by these autonomous submarines. These submarines recharge their batteries automatically by docking to underwater charging stations.
I suspect the batteries end up cheap enough to make this not worthwhile. If not today, then certainly soon.
sea water is too corrosive and too conductive. You could make a single overhead cable and use sea water as your return work. However it wouldn't be practical since ships multiple stories tall need to pass under the wire (and draw a lot of power), while also tiny fishing boards that couldn't even get a pole that high.
In addition to the practical challenges, this would also be highly vulnerable to sabotage.
I wonder how that expense compares to just building a catenary electric rail bridge and skipping the boat entirely.