This electric ferry uses a very long extension cord

[@TomScottGo]

I've found a hyper-efficient style over the years: I'm sure there's a lovely twelve-minute documentary to be found in this story too, but this felt like everything that needed to be said!

[@nezbitnezbit5397]

Awesome

[@pjinq]

Cool

[@malte2505]

Love from Denmark!

[@ahoj113]

9 days ago💀

[@Psyrus88]

You're a master of brevity, sir.

[@daveblack6951]

Tom Scott is the only KZbinr left that doesn't unnecessarily stretch a 4-minute video into 20 minutes!

[@johndododoe1411]

LPL keeps his reviews of locks so short people use the length as a hint of how bad the product is (worst ones break in under a minute of testing).

[@ikbintom]

Many KZbinrs make shorts now ;)

[@tomaccino]

And it's not sponsored by Manscaped either 🤣

[@hamsterdam1942]

@@johndododoe1411 1 minute is a very good lock though

[@tams805]

@@ikbintom The peanut gallery disapproves of this.

[@itisjambo]

I love how the cable reel spins. It feels very nostalgic, reminiscent of an old steam-driven paddle boat.

[@Genius_at_Work]

Gantry Cranes are powered the same Way

[@aislingmurphy7619]

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[@paulf1071]

I wonder if the wires in the cable suffer from metal fatigue?

[@Genius_at_Work]

@@paulf1071 No. In Conductors, the Metal must be as pure as possible. Pure Copper is very ductile. Copper Alloys would fatigue, but they are much less conductive too.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

It does feel very boat-y.

[@ermining1]

The funny thing is when I was in maritime college years ago, during engineering class a student suggested this, and at the time it's seemed impossible. The teacher a retired chief engineer, laughed and said it was such a dumb idea 🤣

[@anononomous]

"Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats." - Howard Aiken

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Who's laughing now?

[@peterclarke7240]

I had an IT lecturer dismiss the idea of phone cameras back in 2003. Just goes to show: humans are depressingly bad at predicting the future, because they're stuck in the present.

[@SirHaviland]

@@peterclarke7240 There was this one professor who told Konrad Röntgen that studying Physics is a bad idea because everything is already found... luckily that didn't stop him...

[@MartinFinnerup]

@@SirHaviland Any scientist who thinks they have found all, that they know all there i to know, they don't deserve the title. The best scientist know that they have just scratched the surface. There are untold mysteries out there, just waiting for someone to understand them.

[@deeboi]

It blows my mind to think that Tom has been just a few minutes drive away from where I live, making a video about the ferry that my grandad and I used to take so many times. Thank you, Tom.

[@Valery0p5]

Why do people love to blow away their location?

[@kramned6781]

@@Valery0p5 Who would travel to them? Do you have the time or care to actually do that? Besides they only said "A few minutes drive away" not "I live exactly right here, where the video shows."

[@isviewer]

@@Valery0p5 Not all of us are paranoid about strangers knowing the general area we live in

[@DonDuracell]

Me too. My hometown was described by Tom as "The exception to the rule" ;-)

[@roasty-]

Stik mig en øl, ellers slår jeg flik-flak i Randers Fjord🎶

[@janmelsen8215]

I live a couple of cities over and this is news to me! It is so odd to hear your own miniscule language in a Tom Scott video. Thank you Tom, for visiting even the smaller countries around the world and showing us their hidden gems of technology!

[@KAFNOR]

I thought it was cool to hear Danish, knowing most Scandinavians know English.

[@xnax1993]

I'm just weirded out about the fact that a thing interesting enough to be in a Tom Scott video is in Randers of all places

[@1970DAH]

Hvad fanden laver Tom Scott i Danmark? 😃

[@cthulhucy]

Every day is a good day when Tom uploads a video about a ferry

[@khalilahd.]

Agreed ❤

[@TheCheesyNachos]

you can even say it’s a _ferry_ good day

[@dan3a]

@@TheCheesyNachos * badum tssss*

[@MarkFletcher]

@@TheCheesyNachos I came here to say that. Bravo.

[@ClarinoI]

That sentence was about three words too long.

[@carlhidestal9808]

A fully electric, non cable guided ferry exists between Denmark, Helsingör and Sweden, Helsingborg. It charges between every trip and they built a new substation to power it. When it docks it (was supposed to at least) automatically connect the HV cable using a robotic arm/guider to the ferry and charge before departing again in 20 minutes.

[@Tomatiism]

We also have a bunch of these in Norway!

[@ncard00]

Batteries aren’t green compared to connecting directly to the power grid through wires, why all railroads for instannce should be electrified, instead of battery, hydrogen, or diesel.

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

That's a ridiculously expensive and inefficient solution relative to this one.

[@mughil128]

I find it astonishing that you still find new things to talk about each video Tom

[@TazerXI]

His previous video, released 5 days ago, is about how he can't do this forever. And how he has, for nearly 10 years, been able to make videos for the "things you might not have known" series every week, but when he reaches 10 years, the uploads will become infrequent and random, whenever he feels he can upload. Along side asking for some ideas to get him over the 10 year mark.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

The world is a wondrous place.

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

Not only new things... There must be like 2 ferry videos a year at the very least.

[@GumSkyloard]

@Caleb OKAY Would he be able to get there easily, though? He focuses on Europe and the US because they're more accessible to him, from what I've seen. I'm sure that if people messaged him about something great in Korea, in China, in India, in Brazil, in Bolivia, in Argentina, so on, and if he had enough time and the right schedule, he'd love to go!

[@zackakai5173]

I find it astounding that he still finds news things to talk about specifically regarding ferries so often, and somehow it's *still* interesting

[@TanksYouVeryMuch]

Love how strait to the point Tom is.

[@mhoppy6639]

Well that was a ferry good pun. Mine on the other hand…😂

[@92xsaabaru-]

I sea what you did there, although I have to admit my response is knot very timely

[@simondamkier6634]

I live in Denmark. Actually very close to Randers. I have never heard about this. Thank you for covering more of our small country Tom! Love your videos!

[@johnnypetersen3818]

I've fished for crabs in the little marina next to it as a kid

[@Martell364]

That's because the ferry runs so quietly ^^

[@MartinBalle7]

I didn't know either and I'm also not far from Randers

[@Danilochan]

Me too. Live in Aalborg, and never heard of it..

[@henriksrensen758]

He should be telling us he was coming would love to say hello

[@sovietpowersupereme6231]

Tom I gotta say you helped me alot, recently I was very sick and in alot of pain so to get my mind off that pain i started watching KZbin videos, but they were either too sparse and the pain came back, or they weren't interesting, and my mind wandered and eventually back to painful reality. your videos were short concise and educational, and I learned alot of stuff while keeping the pain far away from my mind as my sickness progress eventually to where I am now. healing your videos saved me from having to consciously experience alot of pain and I will be forever grateful for that.

[@s.roquentin6513]

Another chronic pain patient here, seconding this.

[@cha1rie]

Tom actually has to have teleportation powers to get to these places, script, record edit and post these weekly

[@Genius_at_Work]

No, he just has a Team. Especially Editing is outsourced even by KZbinrs way smaller than him. On his Scale, you have Employees for selecting Topics, scripting and editing.

[@ridhosamudro2199]

@@Genius_at_Work I mean it makes sense having a team to teleport someone.

[@MaydupNem]

kind of makes you wonder if he doesn't actually live anywhere and he's just been on a road trip since 2009

[@logicbugs9452]

@@MaydupNem I wonder how many miles he flies a year

[@OrangeC7]

@@ridhosamudro2199 It _would_ be quite a challenge to teleport all by yourself, huh?

[@sabinrawr]

Finally! My biggest question about cable-drawn ferries has an answer! I have been wondering about other boats for so long. And now I know. Also, electricity is cool, but somehow I feel it's secondary to learning about slackening the cable!

[@o.m.b.demolitionenterprise5398]

About 1 and a half weeks ago i rode an electric ferry across the Haardangerfjord in norway! It was amazingly modern.

[@awileksand]

Swedens archipelagos (west and east) are riddled with short passages like this, and I have seen and used line ferrys just like this one for ages. I’m fifty and it feels like a super normal thing and that they have always been there (maybe they were diesels before?). Usually in your films I get to see some strange exotic old tech, so this was fun 😊

[@rickinielsen1]

Saw the title and thought: Huh, I know about one of these near me. Turns out it was the same one. Nice video!

[@cheif3112]

Simple, easy to watch, informative, interesting, perfect length videos. Love Tom Scott!

[@BelviGER]

That makes total sense, just surprised they didn't go the extra step of having the ferry be dragged along by stationary winches on each side

[@ThorNado77]

I imagine they considered that. But think it through ... What if, electricity fails, and they are in the middle of the river? With their current solution, the captain can start the diesel generator on the boat, and they'll be out of the way in a matter of minutes. Sure, you could have diesel generators on shore, and operate the shore winches that way too. But that would require constant shore personnel, just in case. The ferry, as shown here in the video, can be operated daily by a single person.

[@BelviGER]

@@ThorNado77 oh totally, though I had thought about them keeping the on board diesel engine while being dragged along

[@kentonian]

He said that’s what this one replaced

[@Captain__Obvious]

@LueLou Why would you need two winches? Think of it like a cable car or an elevator, which are proven safe systems. Also a stationary winch no longer has to fit on the boat and transport its own mass every single journey, which would result in reduced costs if anything.

[@Captain__Obvious]

@LueLou Bigger ships could pass in precisely the same way: dock the ferry and spool out cable. Also a "weather resistant building" is simply called "a building" lmao

[@niallflanagan3847]

So this must've been where you were heading when I spoke to you getting off the plane in Copenhagen. Good stuff as always

[@peteranderson037]

Takes the term "shore power" to a whole new level.

[@BjoerNisse]

around 1:12 he says "ren el" which is translated as "clean electricity" but its a homonym and should be translated as "purely/exclusively electricity" but it makes for a fun coincidence

[@Gin-toki]

I live in Denmark and wasn't aware of this particular ferry, thanks for the video! I've seen a handful of the other electric ferries that has a robot arm on the dockside that connects them to the grid so they can recharge while in dock, but this one is news to me.

[@incalescent9378]

I am now imagining a gigantic robot arm in the center of the river or canal, coming out from the water and above the water, that just moves the ferry across like a child would do when playing with a toy boat.

[@EssenSlug]

I only heard about it a few weeks ago, when they talked about changing back to diesel because of the electric bill

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@EssenSlug maybe they'll levy a local tax to help pay for it through some kind of tax credit for the ferry company? I'm not sure if they do that kind of thing over there, but it seems like something that would be a good political move, if I correctly understand the political atmosphere in Denmark.

[@T0NI_]

@@tissuepaper9962 a very real possibility would be the municipality providing funding for keeping the electric solution, as a show of good will on their part.

[@davidberriman5903]

Tom despite the fact that I shouldn't be surprised at the subjects you cover after this long I am amazed at this one. I remember cable ferries in my area but they were driven by diesel engines. They have long since been replaced by bridges. Thank you.

[@NiklasVWWV]

As a Swede, I understand Danish. But Danish numbers are insane. Thanks for the subtitles, Tom, and thanks for the vid.

[@Excludos]

You want to tell me you don't somehow intuitively understand what the heck "halvfjerds tusen" means?

[@MrAskeKaiser]

@@Excludos halvfjerdstusind ;)

[@xanukraine]

As an expat living in Denmark my only question to Danish numeric system is “Whyyyyyy????”

[@MrAskeKaiser]

@@xanukraine Danes don't understand it either. The only way is to remember the names for each number.

[@benja_mint]

I only understood "super super good"

[@justintaylor375]

As a trollybus enthusiast, battery hater, and sailer, I LOVE this very!

[@CityState_of_Valletta]

Quite the collection of bumper-stickers you have there.

[@writeordie5452]

As a Swede, I thank you for the subtitles.

[@jan_Mamu]

as a dane, i totally agree

[@TheDigitalZero]

@@Ryeness0 As a Dane, I must agree with you.

[@epiendless1128]

Looking forward to this conversation turning into a "Scandinavia and the World" comic.

[@jan_Mamu]

@@epiendless1128 yes, PLEASE!

[@baitboy3191]

I would love to work in environmental engineering in places like Denmark, they have implemented so many practical green solutions, unlike many countries, where these concepts remain a concept and are never implemented.

[@SoniasWay]

Tom always brings something new and interesting for us. Glad to learn so about many things I didn’t know existed

[@jordanp5469]

This is definitely in Tom Scott's top 2 videos about ferries attached to cables

[@RenneVangr]

I never expected Tom to visit the city I was born in, let alone for a video. Awesome.

[@acediadekay3793]

He have been quite a few times and covered topics such as: Elia in Herning, The Jelling Runestones and why we are behind the world.

[@Valyn]

There isn't a perfect one size fits all solution to sustainability. Each problem needs is own solution. This is one of them. Love it

[@rumle7525]

Hey, there is a mistranslation at 00:59, he says operational power is 150-200 kW, not that it uses 150-200 kWh each day.

[@face1990]

Thank you, that's a really important distinction!

[@erikthomsen4007]

Sadly, a significant amount of people don't know the difference (power vs. energy), and concoct abominations like "kilowatt per hour". 😣

[@saddle1940]

It'd be true if the actual run time was for a hour every day! Wonder how long the trip takes and how many trips it does.

[@wrosgar]

Wow it really is so quiet! You can clearly hear the wind in the video but nothing else! Blows me away.

[@Cakepotato]

I've had the pleasure of going across with this ferry and too were surprised of just how quiet it was :D

[@thedoublek4816]

In Strausberg, a bit east from Berlin, Germany, there is an electrical ferry which is powered by an overhead cable. The cable spans roughly 350 meters all across the Straussee lake and the ferry draws its current via some kind of a trolley pole. It operates this way since 1915 and has got a line number like any regular bus line (F39, F for Fähre / ferry), similarly to many other ferries in the Berlin region.

[@Aprimdal]

you know i think your one of the youtuber that makes the most vids on denmark that i know and for a danish that use youtube a lot. i love that 👍

[@ojomaze7777]

I am so happy there is another Tom Scott video regarding something in my home country

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

Of course the Danes are able to make this work. Here in Canada, the BC Ferry Corporation bought a bunch of electric vessels but has no way of charging them so they say "Electric" on the side but actually run on diesel.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

@@ragnkja As a solution? Wouldn't that just use more diesel less efficiently?

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

@@ragnkja Supposedly the ferries will plug into shore power...someday.....maybe. If they build the infrastructure for it.

[@AmusementLabs]

It's like someone at a meeting went "we can't just plug a giant cord in at the shore, that's ridiculous." "Well....why can't we?" "I----"

[@johnopalko5223]

The Wheatland Ferry across the Willamette River in Oregon used to be an electric ferry. Power was supplied by an aerial cable suspended about 80 feet above the water. Several (20?) years ago, they decommissioned the electric ferry and replaced it with a diesel-powered one. Go figure.

[@buddyclem7328]

I'd like to see a video on that!

[@krashd]

Would this be in the same United States that is currently replacing it's nuclear power plants with coal ones?

[@lebthot5787]

@@krashdwhy yes it’s orgeon

[@saddle1940]

Coal wasn't an option?

[@PushyPawn]

I love Toms extended, quiet outros.

[@ThomasNing]

I learnt by talking to my local River crossing ferry operator that the reason they don't operate during high winds is not because the ferry can't do it safely, but because the wind pushing the ferry sideways greatly increases the tension on the cable, preventing it from dropping and allowing other vessels to pass. Very interesting

[@GeoStreber]

You should have a look at the hybrid ferries between Rostock and Gedser. They were recently equipped with Flettner rotors.

[@MarkFaldborg]

I immediately clocked Denmark with the rose hip right by the water. Great video Tom!

[@Cirque-du-Filet-Mignon]

I've never heard of these, lovely!

[@Jew1469]

I've been on this ferry many times. My friend lives close by it, and i often use it to visit him.

[@ltohmmm5858]

You should try the Denman Island cable ferry connected to Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada -- it is a bit of a disaster economically -- longest cable ferry in the world technically.

[@sofiejensen3804]

Tom Scott in Denmark. I’m honoured. You have announce these things!

[@jergenen]

Check out the ferry from Flakk to Rørvik. It's a plug-in hybrid, and charges on both landings by having two huge metal plates make contact with a charging point on the ferry. It uses 4.5 MW at 11kV each time it stops to let cars off and on.

[@Religion0]

Tom! Hope you enjoyed your visit to Denmark! In the future, most 'd's are silent in Danish, I almost didn't recognize Randers due to you pronouncing the d.

[@Arjay404]

I like this already just because of the lack of noise, makes it so much more pleasant.

[@robinbennett5994]

He didn't mention how the vibration from the engines on big ferries also sets off the alarms on many of the cars. You can hear the beeping and wailing of a big car ferry from a mile away at sea. The crew must hate it.

[@hjalfi]

The Tim Traveller just did a video on motorless ferries --- cable-guided ferries which use the current flow in the river they're crossing to power them. The pilot just pulls a big lever and the ferry quietly moves across the river. They're quite small and I'm guessing that fjords don't have enough current to operate one, though...

[@epiendless1128]

I like Tim, but Tom did that at well. 🙂

[@Genius_at_Work]

The Fjords might have enough Current with the Tide going in or out, but that's just a few Minutes four Times per Day.

[@matthewbeasley7765]

The Willamette river in Oregon USA has 3 ferries that are electric. They all use overhead trolleys to deliver three phase power. The cables are far overhead and a drop cable brings the power down.

[@natvoisey]

Cable ferrys _and_ powered by and extension cord. What a _Tom Scott_ video!

[@jannepeltonen2036]

There used to be dozens of cable ferries as part of the Finnish road network. But - much to the consternation of sailors - most of them have been replaced by bridges. Still, it might make sense to electrify at least some of thing using this method.

[@_aidid]

I have had this idea of electric ferry since childhood but I could not do anything to realise my idea. It is good to watch someone has made this

[@hymek7017]

I love the sentiment that this is a step in the right direction. So true. It may not save the world on its own but it is the right way to go. A good positive message.

[@PaxPirate]

Huh. My turn to excitedly pull up a Tom Scott video only to learn something about my country (and a area I've been to) that I've never heard about before. I love this. ❤️

[@johnholleran]

Perhaps this has been asked before, but why not put the power unit on the land, and use the existing guide cable as a pull cable? Would need to turn the cable into a loop with a wheel on each end but it can be electrically powered by only one side. Suppose it's more difficult to loosen it for large ships

[@quantisedspace7047]

I was thinking the same, but with a single cable and a puller at both ends.

[@WalterHildahl]

What happens when the cable brakes?

[@mathis8210]

This is very nice. A good, efficient method and its avoiding the massive environmental impact and danger of a huge battery on board.

[@Prohibitorum]

Efficient is fine, that's what we're here for.

[@Zerbey]

I saw the title and assumed it was just for on shore operations, this is so much cooler than that.

[@magnusnielsen4409]

Great video. From copenhagen myself so have never seen this ferry in denmark but i know about the bigger ones going from denmark to sweden. From helsingør. =)

[@acey7777]

That Can-do! take at the end is really lovely, keep up the great video process!

[@albert5326]

I freakin' love this length and style of video. To the point and super informative.

[@Knownasnemoo]

as a dane, i was shortly stunned hearing danish spoken in one of your videos, specially because i wasn't looking at the monitor at the moment.. i was like "...what.." funny, interesting video none the less, i didn't know Randers had this.

[@sineptorro9190]

You should check out the Ferry over the Straussee near Berlin. It uses Overhead wires since 1915.

[@bazza945]

Tom, you keep reeling us in to another really great story. Thank you, I'm hooked.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

The massive container ships are a big fuel burner... but they are very energy efficient per kilogram of cargo per kilometer. It is probably the most energy efficient way to move weight any distance.

[@jlust6660]

Not at this distance it would seem. In the video they said they used to use around 100 liters of diesel per day, and nowadays around 200 kWh of electricity. Considering a liter of diesel contains around 10 kWh of energy, that's an insane improvement in efficiency.

[@Engineer9736]

@@jlust6660 Massive container ships are not used on the distance in this video. They go across the oceans.

[@seraphina985]

They are also something that could actually be replaced with a reliable low carbon power source in time. Those ships are more than large enough to handle the mass of a fission reactor complete with shielding. The main reason why the experimental nuclear merchant ships were not commercially viable was a lack of trained personnel and infrastructure to maintain them. Both of which are structural issues that could be solved with a plan being put in place to support the transition. After all we know how to train engineering graduates that can do this work and the equipment they need to operate, many military naval bases have this in place so civilian infrastructure for nuclear merchant shipping could be built. It is possible to build reactors that become passively stable if immersed in the deep ocean at ~4C and still have far less health consequences than just turning on a diesel generator of that size for a day, respiratory disease due to air pollution is no joke and there is a good reason why fossil power sources have death rates in the tens of thousands per TW per annum just when running normally.

[@KonjonoAwesome]

@@jlust6660 I'm guessing the diesel generators were started at the beginning of the day and ran all day regardless of whether the ferry was in motion. The nice thing about the electric conversion is power is only used during crossings.

[@jlust6660]

@@Engineer9736 Exactly, that's why I specified that at this distance at least, they could probably be beaten

[@PhilipMurphy8Extra]

Great stuff from Tom Scott for sure.

[@yael3326]

One of the things I get from your videos is that places in Europe develop means of transportation that are suited and logical for their situation. Even if these situations are quite obscure, they allow it because it makes sense. From where I'm from, even if there is no existing layout for a solution, officials tend to act as if there's some sort of universal law that we should only use what they think developed countries are already using. Like, "lets build car-centric cities, there are no existing problems with that. That's how it's meant to be."

[@roboko6618]

I think it comes down to money. It's easier to buy politicians in the third world, and the issues of car centric transport do not really enter the mind of the average person until they experience it themselves.

[@Teampegleg]

Outside of China how many cities are master planned? Most places are developed via organic growth. Which often means that they develop around the transportation system that existed when that growth happened. For older cities that often means trains. For newer cities that often means cars.

[@CRneu]

@@ragnkja that's what they mean by trains. the cities are designed around walkable neighborhoods which are placed by transit stops. in mass-transit focused societies that tends to be trains as main arteries and then walking in neighborhoods. Although this depends on your definition of "older city".

[@Teampegleg]

@@ragnkja And? I never said anything about that, but that is an outgrowth of having to walk from your home to the station and other shops. Newer cities that evolved around the car that wasn't a consideration.

[@Teampegleg]

@@roboko6618 or it could be the third world doesn't have the money to build an extensive mass transit system...

[@Flyboy207]

I get nervous on boats for various sinking related reasons... when I went on a tour of the Port of Los Angeles, I was nervous after boarding the boat until I heard the big diesels start up. It’s a familiar and comforting sound that I don’t know if I’d be comfortable without.

[@Mr.Engineer.]

I am not sure if you have covered this or not, but there are smaller cargo vessels going on routes along the Norwegian coast that has rotating sails to aid their propulsion and in turn reduce the fuel usage. Quite an interesting design.

[@kenbrown2808]

I remember when those sails were going to usher in a new age of sailing craft.

[@SamSitar]

copy tom by filming them.

[@davidjones332]

There were experimental rotor ships back in the 1920s but they never caught on. Sometimes it seems like every generation has to rediscover the same inventions.

[@farmerboy916]

Send it to his suggestion box!

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@kenbrown2808 they still could, if we went back to crossing the ocean in months instead of days. Maybe with the efficiency advancements we've made over historical sail designs, the trip could be only a few weeks even with the enormous cargo ships we use today. That may sound stupid but eventually we need to slow the pace of life and business back down, if we don't want to use up all our natural resources and go extinct.

[@MichaelRinghusGertz]

Nice to see something from Denmark... And a fun little ferry.

[@DerRheydter]

The "Strausseefähre" at the Straussee near Berlin has an overhead wire to power the electric engine of the boat. Maybe it's worth a visit?

[@andreawoelke]

Seconded. I guess it's not suitable here because ships sail up and down there. I think there are none on Strausssee.

[@John-ci8yk]

That's one of the craziest things I've ever seen, thank you and thumbs up for the video.

[@drdewott9154]

Quite unexpected to see you back in Denmark Tom but heck I didnt even know about this, and I'm a Dane myself. Though I do know we have been making huge advances in green boating. We have several battery ferries around the country already, heck the ones sailing between Elsinore and Helsingborg north of Copenhagen are the largest electric ferries in the world IIRC. And DFDS who are headquartered here plan to launch an entirely hydrogen powered ship on their flagship Copenhagen to Oslo overnight ferry by 2027, while Mærsk are looking at methanol propulsion. Neat stuff all around .

[@forkliftofzen5318]

*The fatal flaw here.* Denmark still gets ~ 56 to 76 of its electrical power from oil, coal, natural gas and other nonrenewable sources depending on season and year. Oil ~ 32 - 38% Coal ~ 10 - 16% NG ~ 12 - 18% Other nonrenewables ~ 2 - 4%

[@buddyclem7328]

@@forkliftofzen5318 You make a good point, but none of that adds up to 100%. Maybe you forgot to count a category, like nuclear?

[@forkliftofzen5318]

@@buddyclem7328 I left the other part blank so that others would look into what is there and see it for what it is and how small of a percentages it actually caries.

[@michaelnjensen]

@@forkliftofzen5318 I'm not so sure about that, looking at the state energy grid's live statistics (and history) on "energinet dk / energisystem_fullscreen" we actually get most energy covered by wind energy, most days esp. during the winter periods, some days even 100% from renewables, it's becoming more and more frequent, but of course, days with no sunlight, and no wind, we need to import energy, mostly from NO/SE/NL/DE. But since the grids are connected, even if we manage to cover all our own usage from renewables, we might still import/export from other countries, to balance the North European power grid.

[@TheTwoRavens]

Im from Randers nice too see you are in Denmark. Hope you enjoy your stay here :)

[@Felix-nz7lq]

We have tons of battery-electric ferries here in Norway, but some have had an unfortunate tendency to spontaneously combust.

[@loganshields2739]

good thing there is all that water to put it out

[@KerriEverlasting]

The electric vehicles are going to be entertaining if anyone can charge them 😂

[@sjorsangevare]

Good thing old fashioned cars never burn down 😉

[@Duspende]

@@loganshields2739 Unfortunately they probably utilize Lithium-Ion batteries, and Lithium explodes in contact with water.

[@Jehty_]

Are they more likely to catch on fire than other types of ferries?

[@GwahirW]

That wrap up left me expecting a local news station id. Still loved it.

[@InternetRoot]

An electric plane with a very long extension cord that can fly directly from New York to Singapore would be a game-changer.

[@JackieGian]

Easy, just build a metal ring with a diameter large enough for the ring to fit around the planet and to have about 10k feet between it and the surface of earth, balance it out and use it as a catenary. I think I'd call it jet stream

[@FifaBridlez]

tom you're an amazing teacher/youtuber and a true british icon!

[@TheJonititan]

Neat. Very curious regarding the inductive loads caused by that cable coil though.

[@psirvent8]

Maybe it's DC in order to avoid that kind of issue ?

[@TheJonititan]

@@psirvent8 that would certainly reduce the issue but you'd still have an inductive load.

[@psirvent8]

@@TheJonititan Well, I did work for a company who makes "devices" with electric motors and the associated circuit boards to drive them and as far as I know from there, a motor will behave like a resistor if it's powered by DC. Inductive, resistive and capacitive loads only mattering under AC.

[@TheJonititan]

@@psirvent8 you'd still have an inductor. DC only means that the inductive load is only present when you power it on or off. Inductive loads resist changes you see.

[@Philly1cheasteak]

Hey Tom, I just wanted to let you know this video was a nice change of pace from what I usually experience on the internet. Quiet positivity is nice :)

[@jonathan_60503]

I wonder how the efficiency of this compares to simply using electrically powered capstans on each shore to haul a ferry back and forth on cables fixes to the ferry; rather than the ferry pulling itself along cables fixed to the shores. (Guess there might be higher risk of cable damage since they're not just getting moved up and down) Still, very cool to see. Thanks Tom!

[@eDoc2020]

The efficiency (or rather the energy usage) should be nearly the same either way.

[@IngeborgEngh]

My favorite thing about electrical boats is that they are quiet. And in addition, that they don't vibrate/ shake and they are not smelly because of the exhaust. Soooo comfortable

[@andrewkvk1707]

I'm sure there is an obvious reason, but if they're already pulling the ferry along a cable... why not have the cable pull the ferry from the shores?

[@KuruGDI]

*Tom Scott:* One does not simply power an ocean cruiser with an electric motor! *Nikola Tesla:* Hold my tesla coil I think I have an idea!

[@diogoalmeidavisuals]

Since the ferry is already cable guided wouldn't it be easier and more efficient to have it be pulled by those cables and have the motors that do so on the shore sort of like a cable car/gondola? It would be more efficient as the ferry itself would be lighter

[@observer4916]

the is definitely one of the Tom Scott ferry videos ever produced

[@Lyssebabz]

I am so happy you visited denmark!

[@weaverofbrokenthreads]

All the fjord ferries in Norway are electric (with giant batteries though) and it is absolutely magical to be in the middle of a fjord, surrounded by nature with a ferry that is so quiet

[@adamplace1414]

I always said that I'll believe that the future is electrification when I no longer need to deal with the horror of tangled extension cords, so to me, the fact that they can wind and unwind the cable so smoothly is the most stunning part.

[@MaxLennon]

I'm imagining the design team: "All right, obviously we can't just power an electric boat with a cord, so what alternatives are there?" "Well, hang on a minute..."

[@philherb3843]

The efficency is interesting. Most people calculate with 40% energy efficency with big diesel engines. But this only works on high loads. Most of the time, a motor is on idle or little loads, like cruising after acceleration. The ferry now takes 150-200 kWh a day. Before, it took 100 Liters of diesel, which is 1190 kWh of thermal energy. So the efficency of the diesel was before 12,6% to 16,8%. That is the real reason to switch from diesel to electric.

[@philherb3843]

And I calculated the electric engine with 100% efficency. If it drops to 85%, the diesel only had 10,7% - 14,3%

[@gewiener]

Wouldn't it be easier and more efficient to pull the ship from one side to the other using the steel cable with winches on each side? I'm sure there is a reason why not, but I,'m wondering what it could be.

[@J75Pootle]

That's exactly what he said in the video isn't it? Or have I got myself confused?

[@therealcaldini]

There’s a ferry in the Lake District (North England) that works like that. Not sure if the motors are electric or diesel though.

[@AndrewStrydomBRP]

@@J75Pootle No, the boat does the pulling of itself.

[@gewiener]

@@J75Pootle I think it somehow uses the steel cable to move forward instead of a propeller but the engine ist still on the ship. Otherwise there wouldn't be the need for an extension power line.

[@TheTomatenfritz3000]

I think it probably doesn't make a huge difference efficiency-wise. But it's a little more practical because you always need an operator of some sort who needs to be on the ferry. If the cable breaks for example, that person can turn on the diesel generators, can steer the ship and take care of the passengers. Sure it would be possible to control the winches remotely from the ship. But what if the winch has a problem. Then you need someone on shore as well. So I reckon its a little more convenient and safe to have everything on board

[@Lampe2020]

Thanks for leaving the original Danish audio - I'm learning Swedish right now and could actually understand a bit of what he said, although it sounded more like mangled English...

[@tomgamblemusic]

Amazing. I wonder if this could be utilised more on riverways?

[@Slimmeyy]

if the riverway is busy in any way, it'd have too much downtime. Also if the current isn't as fast as this one is, they're just unnecessary.

[@toddkes5890]

Looks like the requirements are short distance, relatively small vehicle/passenger traffic, few large boats crossing, and best is if you are pairing it with a cable ferry.

[@AbiGail-ok7fc]

Maybe. It will depend on the cross-traffic. This ferry needs 90s to slacken the cable, and another 90s to tighten it again. That's three minutes. In our country, we have ferries crossing rivers more or less constantly, crossing the river five or six times per hour, rivers with lots of traffic. Three minute cycles to slacken/tighten the cables would be significant. And I guess it also depends on the depth of the river. If there is isn't much clearance between the ships and river bottom, you don't have a lot of margin -- your cable has to be really on the bottom all the way, and not hanging above to bottom because there's some rubble keeping it away from the bottom. In rivers where the depth varies over the season (like in many European rivers which suffered from record low water levels this summer) this may not be feasible.

[@davidcubberly5435]

I also wonder why they don't just build a bridge instead? It seems short enough to handle a small bridge. But could it be because there is enough cross traffic to make a draw bridge inefficient?

[@toddkes5890]

@@davidcubberly5435 Riverbed might not be good for a bridge or excess water traffic means larger ships need too much of the river for a bridge to be practical.

[@n0ma]

Hey Scott. Welcome to Denmark, I hope you enjoyed your stay here 😊😊