IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Worlds largest electric ship launched by Tasmanian boatbuilder

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Impracticality of Solar Panels on Ships (Due to Low Yield, Weight, Maintenance)

Majority view: Surface area too small, harsh marine environment, adds complexity/weight for negligible gain.
"Same reason EVs rarely have solar panels; adds weight and complexity, making it more expensive than putting the panels somewhere less wet and salty." -servo_sausage
"The 5-10% number is completely invented. I doubt it's half as high as 5%..." -SideburnsOfDoom
"Ship battery is 40,000 kwh and uses at least 10,000 kwh per crossing... A handful of kwh are negligible." -s1artibartfast

2. Superiority of Land-Based Solar

Cheaper installation, maintenance, higher output, longer lifespan.
"Probably more efficient to keep inverters, panels etc on land." -victorbjorklund
"More efficient to spend the same amount of money on shoreside panels with lower installation costs." -scraptor
"You can already drive an EV indefinitely, by mounting a much larger surface area of solar panels on your house..." -SideburnsOfDoom

3. Ferry's Battery/Charging Suited for Short Route

90-min trips, quick port charging during turnaround suffices; no need for full capacity per crossing.
"Journey... 90 minutes and it can charge... in 8 minutes. Offloading... takes much longer." -gbear605
"Charging from 80% to 100% is a lot slower... sweet spot is probably around the 20-80% mark." -jillesvangurp
"...charges 10.5 kV, 600Amp and 10.5MW... 6 minutes... enough to suffice for the journey." -robin_reala (quoting Öresund ferries)

🚀 Project Ideas

Marine Solar ROI Calculator

Summary

  • Web-based tool that calculates solar panel yield on ship/boat/EV roofs vs. equivalent land-based arrays, factoring marine-specific losses (salt corrosion, vibration, bird droppings, angle/orientation).
  • Core value: Settles debates like "Any flat surface on a ship that is designed for electric should be covered in flexible solar panels" by showing real ROI, e.g., 5-10% range extension claims vs. actual <1-3% for this ferry.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Marine engineers, ferry operators, EV/boat designers, HN solar skeptics
Core Feature Input ship roof area/dims/location/usage; outputs kWh/day, $/kWh LCOE, break-even years; visual comparisons (ship vs. land array size/cost)
Tech Stack React/Next.js frontend, Python (PVlib for insolation), PostgreSQL for marine loss DB, deployed on Vercel/AWS
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium (basic free, pro $29/mo for custom sims/export)

Notes

  • Directly addresses "The 5-10% number is completely invented... Ships are not the same though" and car/ship solar math links; HN would love data-driven smackdown of hype.
  • High discussion potential: Shareable reports spark threads; practical for real projects like ferry retrofits.

Electric Ferry Charge Optimizer

Summary

  • SaaS tool simulating ferry ops: battery SOC curves, charging during turnarounds (e.g., 8-40min), solar trickle, delays from low charge; optimizes battery size/infra.
  • Core value: Proves "turnaround time... takes much longer than the 8 minutes for the battery to charge" enables steady-state 80% SOC without full charges.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Ferry operators, port authorities, electrification planners (e.g., Buquebus, Incat)
Core Feature Drag in route params (distance/speed/load), charger MW/rates, weather/solar; outputs schedules, capex/opex, VPP arbitrage
Tech Stack Vue.js frontend, Node.js/Express backend, SciPy/NumPy sim engine, Docker/K8s on GCP
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: Subscription $99/mo per vessel

Notes

  • Solves "when will they charge? Does this ship not run at night?" and "optimizing the amount of batteries to minimize turnover and delays"; quotes like dzhiurgis on roro batteries.
  • Utility for real fleets (Øresund example); HN debates battery sizing vs. diesel-electric.

Vessel Solar Integration Kit Designer

Summary

  • Configurator for marine-grade solar: selects flexible/thin-film panels, DC-DC converters, mounting for roofs (aluminum frames/plastic), wiring to 12V/aux systems.
  • Core value: Makes "solar panels along the roof would give... power for 12V DC charging" practical, bypassing "regulations are totally different" hurdles with pre-certified designs.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Boat builders (Incat), sailboat owners (reactordev), small ferry ops
Core Feature CAD export, BOM with costs, marine cert compliance checker, yield estimator tied to #1 tool
Tech Stack SvelteKit, Three.js for 3D previews, Fusion360 API integration, Stripe for parts orders
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: $49/design + affiliate commissions on parts

Notes

  • HN loves "solar on sailboat... extend range 5-10%" but hates complexity; quotes "not complex at all" vs. "constant maintenance."
  • Sparks maker threads/DIY; viable for Silent 60/catamaran scaling.

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