The latest news from across the industry that ‘got us talking’
Welcome to this weeks round-up of ‘what’s got us talking’, a collection of topical industry news from both our marine and industrial sectors.

Servogear’s Ecoflow Propulsor system has been delivered to an EU-funded emission-free fast ferry project.
Norway’s TrAM project is the world’s first purely battery-driven fast ferry to operate on a multi stop commuter route. The vessel will be built by Norwegian yard Fjellstrand for Kolumbus and will operate in the Stavanger area. Building will start in May -21 and the vessel is due to begin operating in 2022.

Are temperatures rising too high for UK power?
In August 2020, roadside recovery provider, Green Flag predicted a surge in breakdowns due to the UK’s hot weather – 15 drivers were predicted to break down every minute over the period of the heatwave. As well as creating issues with tyre pressure and chemicals in car batteries, hot weather can cause engines to overheat. Facilities managers need confidence that the same won’t happen to the engines in their back-up generators.
Here Jason Harryman, UK Sales and Business Development Manager at Finning UK & Ireland, discusses whether UK temperatures are rising, and if generator owners have cause for concern.

New crowdfunding for DeepSpeed electric hydro jet motor
The DeepSpeed motor first came to public attention at the 2019 Genoa Boat Show when crowds were intrigued by the look of their Number 10 prototype. Traditional hydrojets are placed inside the boat, but the DeepSpeed is an outboard.
The concept is based on the jet turbines that propel airplanes, and the idea came to founder William Gobbo in 2007 when he was replacing a V8 fossil fuel motor on his boat and thought there must be a better, cleaner solution for getting a boat through water. Some airplanes have propellers, some have jets, he reasoned. Why not an electric jet engine for a boat?

Babcock £600m upgrade of Royal Navy Type 23 frigates reaches crucial stage
A £600million project to refit and extend the life of Britain’s fleet of Type 23 frigates has reached a crucial stage with five ships being worked on at one time at Plymouth’s Devonport Dockyard.
Engineering giant Babcock International Plc has just handed back HMS Portland to the Royal Navy, the third ship to be returned in 2020, but is still carrying out final upgrades prior to sea trials in early 2021.
(Image: Matt Gilley/Plymouth Live)

BAE Systems green tech to power up new Alexander Dennis buses
BAE Systems green tech to power up new Alexander Dennis buses
The new systems will power the country’s fleet of up to 600 Enviro400ER hybrid buses. BAE has supplied systems for the first 100 buses and will supply an additional 180 systems for buses next year.