New RoRo Design Features Personal, Battery Powered Cold Ironing System

The first of the vessels is expected to be delivered in 2020. Image Credit: Knud E. Hansen A/S

Naval architects Knud E. Hansen A/S have unveiled plans for a series of new RoRo's that will feature their own personal, battery powered cold ironing system.

Traditional cold ironing systems call for a vessel to plug into shore power, allowing it to turn off its engines while at-berth to reduce emissions.

In contrast, Knud E. Hansen's new vessel design features built-in lithium batteries to provide the electrical power while at berth, eliminating the requirement for cold ironing infrastructure to be built at the port.

"The vessels will use electricity in port, courtesy of large lithium batteries, thus guaranteeing zero emissions whilst at berth. These batteries will be recharged during navigation, through shaft generators adding the so-called peak shaving system, and with the aid of 600 m2 of solar panels," the company explained.

Knud E. Hansen says it has signed a contract with Nanjing Jinling Shipyard, China, for developing the Basic Design of a number of the large RoRo vessels, the first of which is expected to be delivered in 2020.

They will be able to transport over 7,800 lane meters of rolling units, equivalent to approximately 500 trailers, and be known as the "Grimaldi Green 5th Generation" (GG5G).

While battery power is growing in popularity for marine propulsion in smaller, particularly short-sea vessels, in the foreseeable future it is unlikely to be a solution to power the larger vessels of the world fleet.

Still, as per Knud E. Hansen's latest design, in the future those vessels are expected to be using battery technology to reduce at-berth emissions.