Built in Val-de-Marne, a 100% electric cruise boat now sails on the Seine in Paris

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He is a new arrival on the Seine. Hémérafirst new event boat 100% electric from Paris, reached the Debilly port, opposite the Pont d’Iéna. The Compagnie des Bateaux à Roue presented its new flagship during a river cruise on Tuesday October 8, 2024. Built in just one year on the Chantiers de la Haute-Seine, a shipbuilding site in Villeneuve-le-Roi (Val-de-Marne), it offers private cruises of 2.5 hours, with the most beautiful monuments of Paris as a backdrop.

Event cruises that can be privatized

You can barely hear the slight purr of the electric motorwhile the Héméra sails quietly, at 12 km/h. Behind the long bay windows, the Seine flows by, the Eiffel Tower passes. A first official outing, before the start of business: the 39 m long and 85 m boat² de surface already has several reservations registered, and will welcome its first customer on Saturday October 12. But the new flagship of the wheelboat company, specializing in privatized “event cruises”, has already experienced some emotions.

Built in record time (between July 2023 and June 2024), the boat had to meet a challenge: to be ready for the Paris Olympics. Paris raised, even if the Héméra was only a reserve boat during the opening ceremony, and therefore did not welcome any athletes on board.

The pride is no less great for Marie-Pierre Landowski, president of the Esprit-Seine groupto which the Wheel Boat Company belongs. “We wanted to build a new boat that meets environmental challenges, with the technology of tomorrow, and using local companies. There was real competition on this project to finish it on time,” explains the business manager at the head of a fleet of several boatsincluding seven sailors (events or dinner cruises) and a permanent restaurant, La Maison Jaune, recently installed on the banks of Boulogne-Billancourt.

A boat on batteries

The construction of this new electric ship cost 5 million euros. In the engine room, the two engines are “no bigger than that of a car,” explains David Scheffer, technical director. “Manufacturers are now able to miniaturize. These motors have an excellent efficiency of 97%. In comparison, a diesel engine will lose 60% energy. » 700 kWh of batteries ensure up to four hours of autonomy. A time which may seem short, but which remains “much longer than the classic duration of tourist cruises on the Seine”, indicates the Compagnie des Bateaux à Roue.

With approximately 150 cruises per year Estimated, the lifespan of the batteries should ensure ten years of operation for the Héméra without any drop in power. For longevity, the boat was also designed with headroom in the bow. “We took into account the ability to adapt it over time, if other energy solutions emerged,” explains Alain Ferracani, general director.

In the meantime, everything has been designed to save energy as much as possible: heat pump using water from the Seine for air conditioning, energy-efficient kitchen equipment, latest generation batteries, tapered shape of the boat promoting aerodynamics, captains trained in eco-driving, etc.

Design contemporain

Aesthetically, the shuttle designed by the architectural firm Chenet design displays contemporary and clean lines . “We see a lot of old-fashioned boats, with woodwork or classic decoration. We wanted a more contemporary environment for this new boat.”

Able to accommodate up to 60 people(excluding crew), the boat is equipped with catering kitchens and two terraces, at the front and the rear. It can be booked for “customized private events” of 5 hours, indicates Alain Ferracani: lunch or dinner cocktails, ceremonies, weddings, seminars… for a starting price set at 5 000 euros HT.

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