On 26th July 2020, The plugboats.com announced the winners of the 1st ‘Gussies’ electric boat awards officially known as ‘Gustave Trouvé Award for Excellence in Boats and Boating’. “Aditya”, India’s first & largest Solar Powered ferry, won the Gustave Trouvé Award under the Excellence in Electric Boats Designed for Paying Passengers category.
- Aditya built & designed by Navalt Solar and Electric Boats for Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD).Department of Ship Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology was part of the technical committee that did a feasibility study and approved the project at various stages during design and construction.
Gustave Trouvé Award:
i.Gustave Trouvé Award world’s only international awards exclusively for electric boats was instituted by Plugboats to recognise and honour the innovations and achievements of individuals and organisations that design and develop electric boats, motors and related systems.
ii.The Gustave Trouvé Award was named after French inventor – Gustave Trouvé who created the world’s first outboard motor, connecting an electric motor to a rechargeable battery on a boat and sailed in down the Seine river in 1881.
iii.The plugboats announced the inaugural Gustave Trouvé International Awards on 26th May 2020 marking the 139th anniversary of the invention of the electric board.
iv.The winners are announced on 26th July 2020, on the 118th death anniversary of Gustave Trouvé.
Note:
Gustave Trouvé patented many inventions and he also invented the forerunners to the LED light, the endoscope, wearable technology, the modern dental drill and electric razor.
Aditya:
i.Aditya, is the only ferry from Asia that was shortlisted among the 12 ferries in the world which entered the finals with 6 other entries.
ii.Aditya has been commuting on the Vaikkom-Thavanakkadavu route in Alappuzha district since January 2017, every day, Aditya makes 22 trips covering 66 Km with 75 passengers per trip.
Advantages:
i.Aditya, with zero carbon footprint made an evidence for a responsible green transport project.
ii.It is operated in the Vembanad lagoon ecosystem which is critically vulnerable to the effects of pollution.
iii.The energy cost of Aditya is 2.60 USD a day (around Rs.195) which prevents the usage of around 58,000 liters of diesel and saves around 65,000 USD (around Rs. 4.8 crore) a year.
iv.In January 2020, KSWTD announced that Aditya has saved upto Rs. 75 Lakhs since 2017.
Other Winners of the 1st ‘Gussies’ electric boat awards:
- Avon eJet 450 under Tender Excellence in Electric Boats Under 8 metres / 26 feet.
- Aquanima 40 under Excellence in Electric Boats Over 8 metres / 26 feet.
About Navalt Solar and Electric Boats Pvt Ltd.:
CEO– Sandith Thandasherry
Head Office– Kochi, Kerala
Recent Related News:
i.The Deccan Development Society(DDS), Hyderabad Based non-governmental organisation won the Biodiversity award 2020 and a grant of 40000 Euros (approx. Rs. 35 Lakhs) of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
ii.Tata Power company limited’s ‘Club Enerji #Switchoff2SwitchOn’ campaign, which is India’s 1st, energy & resource conservation club has won silver in the Edison Award 2020 under Social innovation’s subcategory.
