A group of students from the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) College of Engineering Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (EEEI) designed an electric-powered propulsion system for the bangka, the country’s traditional rural fishing boats.
Their project, Electrification of Boats for Small-Scale Rural Fishing, was conducted by students Marissa Munar and Sheryl Diokno, along with Rovinna Janel Cruzate-Tayo and Lew Andrew R. Tria, PhD. The team successfully created and tested a prototype battery-powered propulsion system to replace traditional fossil fuel-powered ones, earning a best undergraduate project design award.
According to the researchers, current research on boat electrification primarily focuses on large-scale marine projects. Their research aimed “to include small capacity and small industry vehicles, such as fishing boats used in day-to-day rural fishing operations, in the progress and transition to electrification.”
The prototype was an off-fishing boat used in Mabini, Batangas. It uses a 5-kilowatt motor connected to a battery bank composed of 23 series-connected battery cells. Based on software simulations and hardware emulations, the team concluded that the designed system can sustain the bangka for approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
In the 2023 report Income of Fishers Goes Down Due to High Costs of Petroleum Products—Pamalakaya published in The Manila Bulletin website, fisher folk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) stated that over 80% of the entire fishing production costs for small fisher folk is taken up by fuel expenses.
“By studying the electric conversion of fuel-dependent fishing boats, this research concretizes the gradual shift towards the use of greener energy resources. This also aids in lessening the air, water, and noise pollution that negatively affect the environment, including marine species,” the study stated.
In 2024, Electrification of Boats for Small-Scale Rural Fishing bagged the UPEEEAAI Medal for Best Undergraduate Project (Design Category) from the UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Alumni Association Inc. (UPEEEAAI) as well as a research grant from the UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation, Inc.
For more details of Electrification of Boats for Small-Scale Rural Fishing, visit https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10738648.
