The Lektrike’l Walipotl, Canada’s first all-electric lobster boat, is currently being built by a team of Nova Scotian stakeholders led by the Membertou First Nation, marine conservation charity Oceans North, ship engineering firm Allswater, and energy company BlueGrid.
The goal of the project is to design a cleaner, quieter lobster boat.
"We look forward to seeing Canada’s first electric lobster boat join the Membertou fishing fleet and hope it will be the first of many," Membertou Chief and CEO Terry Paul said.
The project began in December 2023, when Membertou, a community in the larger Mi’kmaq Indigenous group based in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, announced that it had signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Oceans North toward developing an electric lobster boat.
“An electric lobster vessel is the natural next step in our drive toward becoming leaders in the production and use of renewable electricity,” Paul said. “We see the adoption of battery-electric technology in the lobster fishery as an important step in developing a sustainable fishery that will provide benefits for future generations. This first vessel will show fishers what’s possible and improve the work environment onboard by eliminating diesel pollution and reducing noise.”
After signing the MoU, Oceans North worked to bring Allswater and BlueGrid into the partnership.
"Innovative solutions and partnerships are required to address the climate crisis. This project shows how climate action is not a burden to be managed but an opportunity that, when seized creatively, can help address important local priorities," Oceans North Executive Director Louie Porta said.
As for Blue Grid's part in the project, the company helps craft electric vessels that contribute to the power grid when they are not in use. In this way, the project not only benefits the fishing community but the community’s infrastructure more broadly, according to BlueGrid CEO Andrew Boswell.
"[I am] excited about the potential for bi-directional charging to both improve the local electricity grid and provide financial benefits for fishers," Boswell said. "When the boat isn’t in use and electricity needs are high, power stored in the batteries can be fed into the grid. Bi-directional charging provides ongoing financial incentives for vessel owners that helps offset the higher upfront capital costs for battery-powered vessels.”
Allswater CEO and Naval Architect Rob Crutcher added that the project can be an example for the rest of the industry to follow.
"The project … sends a signal to the broader industry in Atlantic Canada: Electric vessels work, and they are ready now," Crutcher said. "Battery-electric technology isn’t new to boats; it’s already being used around the world. The only missing piece in Atlantic Canada was understanding the needs of local fishers and designing a boat that could meet those needs. Once the industry sees that it works, the future fleet picture becomes clearer for everyone.”
