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
OdysseyRe Announces New Co-Chief Underwriting Officers for EMEA18.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Odyssey Reinsurance Company (OdysseyRe) today announced the appointments of Tegwen Gromellon and Anne-Claire Serres as co-chief underwriting officers of its EMEA division, effective July 1. They succeed longtime Chief Underwriting Officer, Gaël Le Païh, who is retiring later this year following 36 years with the Company. Based in Paris, Serres joined OdysseyRe in 2018 as the market director for France and will lead the division’s business across France, Africa and the Middle East. Gromellon, who joined OdysseyRe in 2004, has served as market director for Germany, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland since 2019. He will take the lead for the rest of Europe, including the relationship with the Company’s representative office in Stockholm for the Nordic markets and across Turkey. “We are delighted to appoint both Tegwen and Anne-Claire to these important leadership positions,” said Isabelle Dubots-Lafitte, chief executive officer of EMEA for OdysseyRe. “These appointments recognize their sign
Prokarium Reports Positive Interim Data from Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial of ZH9 in NMIBC patients, Demonstrating Excellent Safety and Encouraging Early Efficacy18.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Prokarium, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering bacterial immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumours, today announced safety and antitumour efficacy results from an interim review of the ongoing Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial of ZH9 in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients. These data were shared via an oral podium presentation at the American Urology Association (AUA26) Annual Meeting. Prokarium CMO, Dr Josefin-Beate Holz said “These data demonstrate ZH9 as a universally applicable treatment for patients. As the treatment is very well tolerated and is showing impactful outcomes for early and BCG-non-responsive patients alike, it opens up the potential for ZH9 to be a transformative bladder saving treatment.” "There is a clear and urgent need to move beyond BCG. The current treatment burden—requiring up to 18 catheterisations in the first year— detrimentally impacts real-world compliance and patient outcomes," said Ibs Mahmood, CEO of Prokarium. "Pat
Arboris Capital Selects ROYC to Expand Private Markets Capabilities on CapGain Platform18.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Arboris Capital Limited (“Arboris”), a DIFC-based firm arranging alternative investments, authorised by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), today announced that it has selected ROYC AB (“ROYC”), a private markets technology and infrastructure provider, to support the continued development of its private markets offering through its platform, CapGain. In its ongoing efforts to expand its private markets capabilities across the Middle East, Arboris has undertaken a strategic review of how to further scale its offering while maintaining the integrity of its existing platform. As a result, Arboris has chosen to integrate ROYC’s fund access, sourcing, and structuring capabilities into CapGain, complementing its existing infrastructure. CapGain is Arboris’s proprietary investment platform, purpose-built to facilitate access between international private market opportunities and Professional Investors in the region. CapGain provides fully digital investor onboarding and KYC, a secu
LogicMonitor and Deutsche Telekom Expand Partnership Across Europe18.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
LogicMonitor®, the AI-first platform for Autonomous IT, today announced the expanded availability of its platform within Deutsche Telekom’s managed services portfolio across selected European markets, including DACH, Benelux, and the Nordics. The expansion builds on operational use of LogicMonitor in the United Kingdom since 2023, where it has supported Deutsche Telekom’s service teams in improving visibility across network, cloud, and hybrid infrastructure environments. Experience gained from these deployments is now informing broader service enablement across additional European markets. As enterprise IT environments grow more complex, organisations require more than visibility—they need predictive resilience. Through defined use cases, LogicMonitor complements Deutsche Telekom’s existing service management, monitoring, and security tooling, helping teams anticipate, detect, and resolve issues before they impact business operations. In the United Kingdom, the partnership has delivere
VahatiCor Appoints Harry D. Rowland, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer18.5.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
VahatiCor, Inc., a medtech company developing interventional therapies for Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction (CMD), announced today the appointment of Harry D. Rowland, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260517830314/en/ VahatiCor CEO, Harry D. Rowland, Ph.D. Rowland previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Endotronix, where he led the development and commercialization of the Cordella™ Pulmonary Artery Sensor and Heart Failure System. Under his leadership, Endotronix raised over $150 million and grew to more than 150 employees. He also oversaw the PROACTIVE-HF pivotal trial from execution through FDA premarket approval and commercial launch. Following its acquisition by Edwards Lifesciences in 2024, Rowland stayed on to support key CMS national coverage and CE Mark milestones. "Harry has led a medical company through this arc before. He took Endotronix from
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