Battery Power Poised to Gain Ground in Short-Sea Shipping

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday March 4, 2014

Batteries could become a significant alternative power source for short sea shipping over the next decade, Remi Eriksen, executive vice president and COO of DNV GL told Seatrade Global.

Eriksen said there is likely to be a market for both hybrid diesel-electric and fully electric vessels.

"We already see orders in Norway for hybrid offshore supply and offshore vessels," he said.

"We now see the order for the first battery powered in operation in 2015 or late 2014, it goes for 30 minutes so it's not a huge distance, but it's fully electric."

For offshore vessels, diesel-electric models can operate efficiently, charging batteries while running on idle.

Meanwhile, ferries are now able to recharge their batteries with shoreside power while loading and unloading passengers, thanks to improvements in charging time.

One of the first exclusively battery-powered ferries will serve a route between Lavik and Oppedal, Norway, carrying up to 120 cars and 360 passengers and charging in just 10 minutes.

The ferry, which was developed as part of a contest organised by Norway's Ministry of Transportation, will also use a number of energy-efficiency features to boost its environmental and economic performance.