“The boat will work a bit like a metro,” says Gilles Manuelle, founder of Fludis. Each morning, it will leave the port of Gennevilliers (Hauts-de-Seine) then enter the capital on the Seine before serving four stops: the ports of Javel Bas, Champs-Elysees, Grands Augustins and Henri IV.
On board, no passengers, but goods. Up to 3,000 parcels a day. And a curious ballet at the key [quay]: “We leave Gennevilliers in the morning. At each stop, we unload our Cyclofret bikes. Deliverymen, fifteen in number, make the “last mile” on these electric cargo bikes. Then they join the next stop to catch the boat. And make a new delivery. “They do 20 km per day maximum and deliver 500 to 600 kg each, as much as the vans! According to the president of the agency.
Fludis will be “the first electric logistics boat on the Seine”, explains Gilles Manuelle. It works with two electric thrusters. But the storage capacity of the batteries is not enough for a whole day, “and there is no catch docks in Paris at the moment.” So the boat is hybrid: “a generator creates energy to power the batteries” when there is more autonomy.