# Buquebus puts battery-electric ferry into commercial service on River Plate

_Published Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 12:33 PM EDT · Infrastructure, Products · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![For years, the gold standard for high-speed ferry transport on River Plate was the Francisco, a dual-fuel LNG catamaran also built by Incat for Buquebus. The new electric vessel doubles Francisco’s carrying capacity while reducing emissions to zero. — Primary](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/9401f97/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4203x2207+0+77/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2Fd6%2F64%2F4bfc1a684603ba0a2917f048aa87%2Fdji-0701.jpg&na.image_optimisation=0)

Buquebus has put the battery-electric China Zorrilla ferry into commercial service between Buenos Aires and Colonia del Sacramento, New Atlas reported. Built by Incat Tasmania, the vessel carries up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles over the 34-mile route.

A 43-megawatt-hour battery system powers eight electric motors and waterjets. Port charging stations can raise its charge from 20% to 80% in 40 minutes, supporting crossings scheduled up to four times daily.

The electric design trades speed for lower operating costs: its service speed is capped at 25 knots, compared with the originally planned hybrid vessel's 37 knots, adding roughly 10 minutes per journey.

## Sources

- [New Atlas: Technology-Innovation-Outdoor News](https://newatlas.com/marine/incat-hull096-china-zorrilla-electric-ferry-buquebus/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/uEeKW-rQhMXcmVGcN5Nwh8
Published: 2026-10-29T16:33:13.852Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-29T15:27:15.130Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-29T18:46:19.716Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)