Green Shipping with Solar Powered Naval Transportation Need of the Hour: Sandith Thandasherry, SESI Solar Young Achiever

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Aditya Solar Ferry Boat
Aditya Solar Ferry Boat
  • SESI felicitates Sandith Thandasherry; the innovator of Aditya – India’s first solar-powered ferry and passenger boats
  • Approx 940 million tonnes of carbon emissions takes place annually from conventional field-based naval transportation 
  • Sandith plans to develop high speed solar electric boat which can minimize noise, smell, pollution, and vibration-related issues of conventional boats 

The depletion of non-renewable resources has been giving headwinds to governments across the world, and the search for clean and green energy has been rife. The rising fuel costs in the current market scenario render the search all the more important. Solar energy is a potentially sustainable alternative to conventional fuels and organizations and innovators are making a constant effort to come out with unique solutions to promote and popularise solar energy.

Sandith Thandasherry

Solar Energy Society of India, the proponent of solar energy to attain self-sufficiency in energy, recognizes such innovations and efforts through its Solar Young Achievers program every month. As part of the Solar Young Achiever Felicitation Programme Series IV, SESI felicitated Sandith Thandasherry, innovator of India’s first solar-powered ferry Aditya, and passenger boats in a digital felicitation program on the 1st of May 2021. 

Sandith Thandasherry is the Founder and CEO of NavAlt Solar & Electric Boats Private Limited. He did his B.Tech in Naval Architecture from IIT Madras and MBA from INSEAD from France, Sandith has been working in the field of solar for almost 16 years. 

Praising Sandith’s achievement and so of others in the field, Prafulla Pathak, President of Solar Energy Society of India, in his keynote address talked about the importance of solar energy and the necessity for it in India, that also in the present context. Shri Pathak praised Sandith’s futuristic views and innovative thoughts on developing advanced solar energy and explained how to improve it furthermore.

Prafulla Pathak

Prafulla Pathak said that the way of putting solar power in conventional energy is wrong and the new generation needs to think differently and innovative ways to develop the infrastructure. “Sandith focused on why do we need green shipping and need to evade water pollution occurring due to naval transportation like boats and ships”, said Prafulla Pathak. He explained his works and development including the pros and cons of solar energy boats. 

Sandith Thandasherry explained the purpose of green shipping and the importance of solar energy in transportation. He mentioned that carbon emissions through shipping are also alarmingly high. According to the 3rd IMO GHG study, shipping transportation contributes to around 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually and is responsible for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. So the idea behind solar energy boats was to save that much carbon emissions.

Sandith discussed further the water pollution caused by shipping or naval transportation. Sandith added that every boat has a different impact regarding its speed, length, and weight. That is why the team chose the ferry to work on this venture. 

High-Speed Solar Electric Boats by NavAlt

Sandith also elaborated plans to develop high-speed solar electric boats. These boats can give relief from the noise, smell, and vibration issues caused by boats operating on petrol or diesel. The cost factor and differences in solar electric boats and conventional boats prove how with a little adjustment the step can save a huge amount of money.

According to Sandith, typical boat conversation won’t be effective enough; there have to be modifications like weight reduction, underwater drag reduction, battery system, redundancy, monitoring, etc. He also demonstrated how much innovation is picking up in the market worldwide and how much it can grow with the support of the government.

The Chief Guest of the program A Chandra Mohana Rao, Advisor, CPDP, STP, and ESCI felicitated Sandith Thandasherry in the presence of SESI President Shri Prafulla Pathak and its Vice President Dr Sayed Majid Ali. Dr Ali, in his address, highlighted the works Sandith has been doing over the years and congratulated him for his successful venture. It was also informed that the Solar Energy Society of India will promote the initiatives taken by Sanditha Thandasherry, and will be presented on the right platform in the days to come. 

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