Aditya is a solar-powered ferry operating between Vaikkom and Thavanakkadavu[2] in the Indian state of Kerala.

Pinarayi Vijayan and Central Cabinet Minister for Power, Renewable Energy, Sri.

In August 2020, MarineLink reported that by the end of the year the Kerala state would replace the three diesel ferries operating the same route with solar ones, mentioning that Aditya costs about US$79 per month compared to US$2867 for diesel-powered ones.

[15] The normal operating speed is 5.5 knots (10 km/h) to achieve a 15-minute travel time between Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu, a distance of 2.5 km on water.

Narendra Modi and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy agreed to sponsor the project considering that this is a first of its kind in India.

The benefit of sponsorship would mean that Kerala State Water Transport Department would get the boat at almost free of cost.

[16][19] However the ministry is yet to give the subsidy amount to Kerala State Water Transport Department.

[25][29] The first 60 days operation data of ADITYA yielded the following results[30] The boat was launched on 9 November 2016.

After that multiple sets of tests and trials were conducted to verify the operational characteristics and safety standards of the boat.

During conceptualising the project, it was envisaged that the total energy needed to operate the ferry for 5.5 hours is 110 kWh (20 kW is average power).

As 1 kW solar panels produce approximately 4 kWh of energy per day, factoring the system efficiency and standard sun of the location of 5.72 (averaged throughout the year).

The energy from the sun is cumulative at the end of the period and for an average sunny day it is about 72 kWh from 18 kW panels (the rest is for auxiliary systems and charges a different battery bank).

The energy use can be further optimised by adding one more trip (5 kWh usage) so that end of day battery SOC can be 10%.

With two upcoming landmark projects, NavAlt boats will be foraying into the fishing sector and defence industry for the first time.