The first steps towards standardized battery containers

On Friday the 11th of March the participants in the Battery Container Standardization Joint Industry Project have taken the first steps towards a higher level of standardization for maritime, containerized battery systems. This initiative is started by the Maritime Battery Forum to promote collaboration throughout the industry and to make adoption of containerized battery systems easier for the potential users. The project will take into account both swappable as well as fixed battery containers.

MBF members VARD, Spear Power Systems, Kongsberg Maritime, Wärtsilä, Corvus Energy and the American Bureau of Shipping are working together in this project with the goal to define guidelines for standardized interfaces for both swappable and fixed battery containers. These guidelines will be based on the work performed in the EU-funded Current Direct project, where the interfaces between battery containers and ship are identified, including the availability of standards for each interface. The guideline will be an endorsement of the results from Current Direct and are expected to be ready by June 2022.

The following step will be to focus on the endorsement of a standardized certification methodology for maritime battery containers as defined in the Current Direct project. The result of this step is expected by the end of 2022.

The Battery Container Standardization JIP aims at providing clarity for potential users of both swappable and fixed battery systems in both the design process as well as the certification process. Promoting a high level of standardization and an overview of available standards for different interfaces is expected to result in easier and more widespread adoption containerized battery systems in the maritime industry.

For more information on the progress of this initiative by the MBF, check our projects section or send an email to our director.