The efforts made by various parties in Indonesia, whether government or private sector, to achieve a complete transition to environmentally friendly vehicles are certainly not new.

Electric cars, motorcycles, and even flying taxis have demonstrated their existence, albeit not on an industrial scale. Infrastructure support to accelerate the transition to environmentally friendly vehicles is gradually but steadily being built, either on a large or small scale.

 

 

 

 

 

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This time, it's the turn of nautical transportation to benefit from a similar opportunity, courtesy of the State Electricity Company, PLN. It has collaborated with the small and medium industries of West Nusa Tenggara for the past few months in an effort to create eBoat, Indonesia's first electric boat.

Made in Indonesia

The public first saw the Sasak Speedboat, an eBoat created by PLN and the SMIs, on Tuesday (28/12/2021), in the Senggigi Beach area of Lombok Island. 

According to an official statement, eBoat is essentially one of PLN's corporate social responsibility projects in supporting long-term development goals for the local community and industry under the supervision of the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Industry Office. It was said that the funds used to build these electronic vessels totaled Rp 500 million.

"This is an excellent opportunity for PLN to seize industrialization. This is a small step that, if accompanied, will have a big impact on West Nusa Tenggara in the future," said Lalu Gita Ariadi, Regional Secretary for the Province of West Nusa Tenggara.

Lasiran, General Manager of the PLN Parent Unit for the West Nusa Tenggara Region, said that the creation of eBoat is a continuation of PLN's commitment to developing an electric vehicle ecosystem, which follows a series of previous assistance packages.

"This is a significant advancement in West Nusa Tenggara for electric vehicle technology. PLN has relaunched the eBoat after previously collaborating on electric bicycles," he said.

In a separate statement, Muhammad Kamil, the head of the Sasak Speedboat IKM, revealed that the material from manufacturing came from local and was made in a relatively short period of time.

"All of the raw materials are local, and the processing time is shrinking by three or four months," Kamil explained, as reported by Detikcom.

Specifications and capabilities 

Although it is still in prototype form, the eBoat is claimed to be five times more efficient than conventional motorboats. The eBoat is 7.5 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 2.25 meters high. Its AC motor engine can produce up to 20 kilowatts. 

The boat's battery is composed of ten boxes, each containing fifteen cells. Each series has a total capacity of 96 Volt/500Ah and can last for two hours at sea.

According to Kamil, the boat only takes two hours to recharge, owing to a fast-charging mechanism. The process can be done using single-phase or three-phase electricity with a minimum power of 7,700 Volt Ampere (VA).

"If it takes two hours to charge. However, if you use home power or one phase, it will take eight hours," Kamil added. The use of electricity is less expensive than the use of oil. The efficiency of this electric boat is high. Using solar energy is five times more efficient than using oil.

The eBoat also has three other important features: a smart wireless key, auto-balancing/self-balancing, and a black box. Of course, its technology will be further developed in order for it to be mass-produced. If it receives support from enough parties, West Nusa Tenggara can become a leader in the development of electric vehicles, particularly in the field of marine or maritime transportation in Indonesia.