Hybrid solutions, including battery can improve efficiency and reduce emissions - MBF Board Member, Alf Kare Adnanes (ABB Marine)
Why is battery technology important to the future of the maritime industry? What is the MBF’s role in accelerating that future?
In an exclusive interview, MBF Board Member and regional division manager for ABB Marine & Ports in AMEA, Alf Kare Adnanes tells us why joining the Maritime Battery Forum was important and his projections for the future.
MBF - Please introduce yourself and your company
Alf Kare Adnanes - I was born in Bømlo, Norway a few decades ago. I received my Master and PhD degrees in the field of Electric Engineering and Cybernetics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and started in ABB Corporate Research in 1991 after my graduation.
ABB is an international corporate with headquarter in Zurich, more than 100,000 employees in about 100 countries worldwide. Its main focus is on electric and automation technologies together with digital system and services. In 1994 I started to work for ABB’s marine department in Norway. Since then, the marine business has steadily grown and is now one of 18 divisions in the group, ABB Marine & Ports with more than 2000 employees in about 20 countries. ABB Marine & Ports is a market leader in its core segments with Azipod® and electric propulsion as the main offerings for Marine and electrification and full crane automation in container and bulk terminals.
My voyage through ABB has been in various functions, from R&D, project execution, technology management, business development, and lately in business management in Singapore and China. At present I am regional division manager for ABB Marine & Ports in AMEA (Asia, Middle East, and Africa), and located in Shanghai.
MBF - How does your job relate to maritime batteries?
A.K.A - We started to explore the use of batteries in integrated electric power and propulsion system systems more ten years ago and over the years seen a rapid growth in number and capacity of battery installations.
MBF - What drew you to maritime battery technology?
A.K.A - Batteries are used as an energy storage with shore charging for fully electric propulsion systems, or in hybrid systems where the battery is used to enhance the performance of the vessel or improve the energy efficiency, hence, reducing the emissions.
Battery is today one of the core technologies in our deliveries to Marine. ABB does not produce own batteries for ships and working with various suppliers of marine batteries and in several countries.
MBF - There are many organizations promoting decarbonization in the maritime industry, why did you choose the MBF?
A.K.A - MBF is by far the organization that has gathered most members from across the value chain in
development, production, application, and operation of batteries on ships. The width of representation and the accumulated experience and competence among the members makes MBF a very important forum to share recent developments, best practices, and information on incidents that can enhance the safety, which should be a the top of priorities for all stakeholders.
MBF - Contributing your knowledge and simply collaborating with other members was possibly sufficient. Why did you choose to become a board member?
A.K.A - I believe with my present and past experiences can contribute to the work in the board, in
particular seen in light of the strategy of MBF to get a wider global reach, including this region
where I have been located more or less the last 15 years.
“MBF is by far the organization that has gathered most members from across the value chain in development, production, application, and operation of batteries on ships.”
MBF - Looking back at developments in battery technology over the last ten years, what for you could be considered the most significant steps in the right direction?
A.K.A;
Understanding of safety and deploying rules and regulations has reduced the risk of harmful incidents significantly.
The battery management and safety systems have been significantly improved.
Power density has improved with new battery and packaging technologies, easier to find space for installation.
Cost effectiveness has improved, more capacity for less pay.
The application knowledge of batteries has been significantly improved, which makes the design and operation of batteries more precise in terms of reaching desired performance and lifetime. It also contributes to enhanced safety as the batteries can be operating within safer conditions.
MBF - What do you think is the future of batteries in the maritime industry?
A.K.A - As a consequence of the increasing stricter rules, regulations and legislation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime fleet, I expect that there will be a need for more electric propulsion, shore charging and batteries in certain segments, in particular for short distance shipping. For most of the ship type, full electric propulsion is not feasible with today’s energy sources, but hybrid solutions, including battery can improve the efficiency and reduce emissions when carbon fuel are used. As new, carbon neutral fuels are taken into use, energy efficiency can give an additional incentive of cost saving since it is widely expected that these novel fuels will be significantly more costly than traditional oil fuels.
MBF - What, in your opinion, are some of the biggest challenges to the maritime battery industry?
A.K.A - Even with a continuous growth in the use of maritime batteries, it will when be compared to other uses in transportation and in power grids be a niche product with special requirements. This is preventing or limiting the willingness to invest in production and getting the needed economy of scale to reach a sustainable business. We see battery makers come and go, and that creates an additional uncertainty from users on whether support and services will be available throughout the lifetime.
MBF - What do you think can increase the adoption rate of maritime batteries?
A.K.A ;
Continuous strengthening of rules and regulations to give increased value of fuel saving and applying novel fuels.
Incentives, governmental or by end customer
Further cost efficiency, more kWh per $
Better state monitoring and prediction to avoid premature failures.
Stable, reliable suppliers of marine batteries that improves the life time support.
MBF - Where do you see the maritime battery forum in the next five years?
A.K.A - Hopefully, the competence and understanding of battery technologies, application, and operations of batteries in the Marine segment has improved to a level where there is less need for the information and experience sharing on the basic level.
In order to continue to be relevant, I believe MBF should now start to define its place in the maritime cluster where the audience and members may have other, or at least additional preferences to what the forum shall provide of membership value compared to today. I believe that the forum can have an advantage of continuing and strengthening the users’ perceived value of membership and attendance (like ship owners, yards, integrators, OEMs, designers). One way could be to develop tools, standards, training material, guidelines and alike that simplifies the work of the users to specify, chose right solution, train crew, as examples.