At the top of the world a quiet revolution is taking place. In Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago a little over 1,000km away from the North Pole, a marine engineering company, a boat builder and a tour operator are piloting a scheme that they hope will convince the world – or at least a few more customers – that commercial boats don’t need to be powered by smelly, sputtering diesels. Instead, they could use something altogether more modern: a hybrid-electric drivetrain.

The scheme works as follows: marine engineering company Volvo Penta has built a state-of-the-art, hybrid-electric drivetrain that’s fitted to a boat built by Marell. This package is then sold to a tour operator called Hurtigruten, who run Norway’s ferries and boat tours in Svalbard. Here’s where it gets interesting. Hurtigruten won’t be buying the boat, they’ll pay for it by the hour.

The aim here is to tempt a marine industry that’s sceptical, risk-averse and wary of sinking costs into new tech to test the waters. ‘You pay by the hour. We worry about the future’, is the pitch in not so many words. Volvo Penta still owns and services the boat’s machinery; Hurtigruten just operates it. 

Why test it in the wild, frozen North? Well, whether it was intended or not, the Volvo Penta system makes a lot of sense out here. The Arctic’s soundtrack is one of silence. There’s almost nothing here to make a noise. To disturb the peace with the chugging of a diesel motor, while trying to sneak up on a polar bear, one of the planet’s fiercest predators, seems counter-productive at best.

And just as importantly, a boat that makes little noise and has less environmental impact as you explore the archipelago’s jaw-dropping beauty will appeal to eco-savvy customers. Plus, if it works here, where the icicles are as tall as people, it should work everywhere else in the world. Svalbard also makes a lot of sense as an early adopter, since it’s under serious threat from climate change. The archipelago is one of the most climatically sensitive areas on Earth. Average temperatures have risen here by 1.7°C in the last decade, twice the Arctic average and seven times the global average. More than anything else, these changes will affect the polar bears who stalk the sea ice for seals that come up to rest. As the sea ice recedes, so will the bears. So the people that live here have to deal with a conflict, one that’s playing out across the planet: when your livelihood depends on tourism, can you keep earning a living in a way that’s sustainable for your, and the planet’s, future? 

One boat isn’t going to answer a question as huge as that, but as I was lucky enough to be invited to see this pioneering boat, I can, at the very least, share my thoughts. There’s an obvious parallel in the car industry that’s almost a cliché to bring up, but, that said, I hope this could be a ‘Tesla’ moment for tour boats. The Kvitbjørn (Norwegian for polar bear) is a brilliant innovation that, to this passenger, made a compelling argument.

First off, let’s acknowledge a couple of things. Kvitbjørn is still a hybrid; there is still a diesel engine for crossing the large expanses of water between peninsulas. In a place where being marooned means risking becoming stuck in sea ice, I can understand why a captain might want to hold on to their engines. The boat also isn’t totally silent. Standing on the deck you can hear the whir of the motor and gears as they power small thrusters below, but honestly, I’ve used louder kitchen equipment.

Out on the sea ice, where the water starts to clump together in crystals and the glaciers glow blue as they meet the coast, the quiet feels like a blanket. The Kvitbjørn feels sympathetic to this, doing its best to give way to the occasion. There’s no noxious diesel fumes or noisy engine to ruin the moment.