Ellen was developed from E-Ferry,[3] an EU-backed project costing EUR 21.3 million.

Deck furniture is made from recycled paper rather than wood, giving the ferry a total weight of 650 tonnes.

[1] Ellen's batteries were developed by Leclanché of Switzerland and are reported to be Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide.

[11] They are split between two battery rooms below deck and have a capacity of 4.3 MWh, larger than any other electric vessel at its time.

[1] A charging arm on the shore ramp moves with the tide and allows battery recharging while loading.