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The First Passenger Boat With Second-Life Tesla Batteries Is the Historic Sylvia

It’s not the first time that second-life EV batteries end up powering tourist / passenger boats, but this is definitely a first for Tesla: Sylvia, a historic 1943 boat, is stepping into the future with help from Tesla.
Sylvia, a historic boat, gets second-life Tesla batteries to ferry tourists in Sweden 4 photos
Photo: Eco Sightseeing
Sylvia, a historic boat, gets second-life Tesla batteries to ferry tourists in SwedenSylvia, a historic boat, gets second-life Tesla batteries to ferry tourists in SwedenSylvia, a historic boat, gets second-life Tesla batteries to ferry tourists in Sweden
Eco Sightseeing, a Swedish company that offers electric boat tours to tourists, and El & Marinteknik have announced a historic conversion: Sylvia, the 1943 boat that was used in the landings of Normandy in 1944, is now all-electric (story via electrek). The conversion was done with second-life batteries from Tesla vehicles, Model S cars, which is believed to be the first instance this happens.

Though a relatively new company (it was founded in 2019), Eco Sightseeing has other Tesla-powered boats. But this is the first to be converted using second-life batteries. Sylvia was built in 1943 for England’s Royal Navy and, as noted above, was used in the Normandy landings. It was initially powered by a traditional Perkins diesel engine.

With the conversion, Sylvia now has a 190kWh battery pack that powers an 85 kW electric motor, with an estimated range of 14 hours of cruising on a single charge. The batteries are “housed in specially designed, water and gas-tight aluminum containers located beneath the boat’s bench seats,” according to the Swedish company.

Eco Sightseeing did not say when the repurposed Sylvia will start carrying passengers, but whenever that happens, it will have room for about 49 of them on board.

Founder Elias Nilsson explains that he was inspired by Greta Thunberg in starting the company. “I wanted to accelerate the development of sustainable shipping in close urban waters,” he says. “In Stockholm there has been talk of converting commercial vessels for many years. Talk and talk but nothing has happened. I believe now is the time for action.”
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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