ABB Powers Tourists to the Niagara Falls with First US Built All-Electric Vessels
3.5.2019 18:45:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Niagara Falls tour operator Maid of the Mist orders two new passenger vessels sailing on pure electric power, enabled by ABB’s technology
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190503005349/en/
Maid of the Mist new passenger vessels sailing on pure electric power, enabled by ABB's technology (Photo: Business Wire)
Visitors to the iconic Niagara Falls will soon be able to experience one of the US’s top landmarks emission-free. Two new Maid of the Mist passenger vessels will be powered entirely by high-capacity battery packs, becoming the first all-electric vessels ever built in the US.
The new vessels will benefit from ABB’s zero-emission technology when they start operating later this year, allowing guests to experience Niagara Falls undisturbed by engine noise, vibration or exhaust fumes from a conventional diesel engine.
Maid of the Mist, one of North America’s oldest tourist attractions, operates from April through to the first week of November, with boats departing for the base of Niagara Falls every 30 minutes, with an estimated 1.6 million guests on board annually.
“We are thrilled to be the US’s first vessel owner to add all-electric ferries to our fleet,” said Christopher M. Glynn, president of Maid of the Mist Corp. “We have chosen ABB to support us in our journey towards more sustainable operation based on their unparalleled experience in marine system integration, as well as efficient and innovative technologies for sustainable transportation.”
“Maid of the Mist’s decisive move towards e-mobility signals a new era in the future of transportation and complements ABB’s commitment to power the world without consuming the earth,” said Peter Terwiesch, President of the Industrial Automation business at ABB, which offers solutions for a wide range of industries, including marine. “Reducing emissions at Niagara Falls is not only important for the natural landmark, but also proves that the technologies enabling sustainable mobility are already available today.”
Each of the vessels will be powered by a pair of battery packs with a total capacity of 316 kWh, split evenly between two catamaran hulls. Having two fully independent power systems on board will increase the resilience of operations by creating a redundancy.
The vessels will charge between every trip while passengers disembark and board. Shoreside charging will only take seven minutes, allowing the batteries to power the electric propulsion motors capable of a total 400 kW (563 HP) output. The power setup will be controlled by ABB’s integrated Power and Energy Management System (PEMS), which will optimize the energy use on board.
The batteries will be charged using hydropower – the largest single renewable energy source for electricity generation in the US, which accounts for 7 percent of the country’s total utility-scale electricity generation. The use of locally produced renewable power will make the energy cycle for the operation of the new Maid of the Mist vessels entirely emission-free.
Sustainable transportation has a crucial role in the fight against climate change, with shipping accounting for 2 to 3 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency responsible for regulating shipping, has set a global target to cut annual emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 from 2008 levels.
In addition to integrating the ship-to-shore battery charging connection, ABB will supply the Maid of the Mist newbuilding project with switchboards, drives and the integrated control system, as well as the ABB Ability™ Marine Remote Diagnostic System for remote equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance. ABB Ability™ is ABB’s leading offering of digital solutions and services.
To watch the video, click here.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader with a comprehensive offering for digital industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB is today a leader in digital industries with four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by its common ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s market leading Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190503005349/en/
Contact information
ABB Ltd
Affolternstrasse 44
8050 Zurich
Switzerland
Media
Relations
Phone: +41 43 317 71 11
Email: media.relations@ch.abb.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Modon Partners With Montage Hotels & Resorts to Bring Ultra-Luxury Hospitality Brand to Egypt’s Ras El Hekma17.5.2026 14:53:00 EEST | Press release
Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding and Montage Hotels & Resorts have announced Montage Ras El Hekma, which will introduce the first branded residences for purchase at Ras El Hekma on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. This is the first Montage resort in Egypt – supporting the emerging city’s growth as a global hub for leisure, business and tourism. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260517167234/en/ Modon partners with Montage Hotels & Resorts to bring ultra-luxury hospitality brand to Egypt’s Ras El Hekma (Photo: AETOSWire) Montage Ras El Hekma will feature 200 guestrooms and suites, in addition to 96 Montage Residences, and will offer a curated mix of wellness and leisure amenities, including beachfront swimmable lagoons, a Spa Montage with 13 treatment rooms, and six dining venues, alongside retail and family-oriented experiences. Designed as the experiential core of the wider community, the resort will also feature even
Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale Selects MEVION S250-FIT ™ for Southern Italy’s First Proton Therapy Center17.5.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Mevion Medical Systems, the global leader in compact proton therapy, today announced that it has been selected to deliver the MEVION S250-FIT Proton Therapy System™ to Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale in Naples. The award, made following a competitive European tender, will establish the first proton therapy center in Southern Italy, significantly expanding access to advanced radiation therapy for patients across the region and reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to northern Italy for care. Until now, proton therapy in Italy has only been available at centers located in Northern Italy, requiring patients from Southern Italy to travel significant distances for care. The Pascale project supports a broader strategy to establish Naples as a leading oncology hub and to improve healthcare equity across Italy. “The selection of the MEVION S250-FIT reflects our commitment to bringing advanced, accessible cancer care to patients in Southern Italy,” said D
TetraMem Announces 22nm Multi-Level RRAM Analog In-Memory Computing SoC Milestone16.5.2026 11:43:00 EEST | Press release
TetraMem Inc., a Silicon Valley–based semiconductor company developing analog in-memory computing (IMC) solutions, today announced the successful tape-out, manufacturing, and initial silicon validation of its MLX200 platform, a 22nm multi-level RRAM-based analog IMC system-on-chip (SoC). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260516556464/en/ Photograph of the MLX200 chip with a five-cent coin for size reference The achievement marks a significant step toward the commercialization of analog computing architectures based on emerging non-volatile memory technologies, addressing the growing challenges of data movement, power consumption, and thermal constraints in modern AI systems. As AI workloads continue to scale, system performance is increasingly constrained by the cost of moving data between memory and compute units. Analog in-memory computing offers a fundamentally different approach by performing computation dir
NTT DATA Announces Intent to Acquire WinWire to Scale Enterprise AI Adoption and Accelerate Industry Transformation with Microsoft15.5.2026 19:36:00 EEST | Press release
NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and IT services, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire WinWire,an award-winning Microsoft partner specializing in Agentic AI, AI on Azure, data engineering and cloud-native development as foundational capabilities for enterprise AI. The acquisition strengthens NTT DATA’s position as a trusted partner to help organizations move beyond experimentation to operationalize AI at scale. The acquisition further advances NTT DATA’s enterprise AI strategy as demand accelerates for AI-driven, cloud-native transformation. By expanding capabilities across data platforms, agentic AI and modern applications, NTT DATA is sharpening its ability to deliver production-ready AI solutions aligned to industry needs, reinforcing its leadership as Microsoft’s Global System Integrator (GSI) Growth Champion Partner of the Year. Upon closing, WinWire will add more than 1,000 skilled Azure engineers and Microsoft specialists to NTT DATA,
STARTEEPO Invest Announces 5% Stake in Xerox Holdings Corporation15.5.2026 19:15:00 EEST | Press release
STARTEEPO Invest (“STARTEEPO”), an alternative investment fund focused on public equity opportunities, today announced that it has acquired a significant ownership position in Xerox Holdings Corporation (“Xerox” or the “Company”). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260515594020/en/ As of the date of this release, STARTEEPO and its affiliates beneficially owns 6.6 million shares of Xerox (excluding options), representing approximately 5.05% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. STARTEEPO has filed a Schedule 13D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) providing additional details regarding its investment. Investment Perspective STARTEEPO believes that Xerox represents an interesting investment opportunity supported by a combination of balance sheet initiatives, ongoing operational improvements, and its position within a changing and consolidating industry. In STARTEEPO’s view, the Company
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom