Electric aircraft are impossible because reasons, right? But we heard about the real ones from Rei. Today it is impossible electric ships, battery or solar powered, and also carbon-neutral synthetic-fueled ships—tugboats, ocean-going ferries, barges, yachts, even a few container ships.
Reasons
Jul 30, 2019 - Insufficient technological bandwidth and legacy ships may stall implementation of all-electric and hybrid vessel designs.
The Curious History of Electric Ship Propulsion
The battleship USS New Mexico (BB 40) [was] the first major warship to be electrically driven.
In 1919, General Electric touted its expertise in electric propulsion with a full-page advertisement in the Cornell Alumni News about USS New Mexico (BB 40).
With the help of vocal bureau spokesmen and, according to McBride, a host of luminaries such as Nicola Tesla who favored electric drive, public opinion swung toward approval of the new system and opposition from industry abated.
So now we have to overcome such objections all over again.
Real Ones
Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s[1] until the 1920s, when the internal combustion engine became dominant.
Just like early electric cars.