Milton Keynes community have recently introduced a brand new fully electric 54-foot narrowboat called Electra! The boat is called a Community Boat because it is run entirely by volunteers and is open to everyone.

Electra is powered by lead carbon batteries that charge overnight from renewable sources as well as solar panels.  The system also powers dishwashers for catering, this allows the MK community to use reusable glass and crockery.  Creating zero emissions, creating less disturbance to the wildlife and surrounding canal users. Electra offers huge benefits aiding the circular economy and is a great step in the right direction to reducing carbon emissions.

The Electra project is a real push to sustainability, Canal boats have been notoriously noisy and cause high levels of vibration from the engine however Electra is the opposite creating little to no noise at all.  The team have also made a real push to source local suppliers to keep food and drink mileage down.

As businesses make efforts to push towards a carbon neutral society, companies are working towards viable alternatives to the traditional fossil fuel powered vehicles including canal boats. If we are collectively going to cut our emissions to reach the ambitious net-zero target by 2050 set out by the government, then vehicles cannot be dependant on fossil fuels. The introduction of Electra is a great example of the shift that fossil fuel powered vehicles must make in order for us to be able to effectively cut our emissions to work closer towards our 2050 Net Zero goal.