Marine Electrification Seminar Singapore first step to establish MBF Asia

On Wednesday October 12, 2022, the Maritime Battery Forum organized its first event in Asia. A total of 75 people gathered at the Raffles Town Club in Singapore for a day filled with information sharing and networking with a focus on maritime batteries and electrification of the maritime sector in Singapore. The interest shown by the attendees and the continuous discussions at the end of the event showed that Singapore is ready to electrify its ships.

Dr. Frank Richter giving an introduction to maritime batteries

The day started with an update on the ‘current status of maritime batteries’ by Managing Director of the Maritime Battery Forum, Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker. After a short introduction of the Maritime Battery Forum, Syb showed the trends in battery installations on board of ships around the world. Although the majority of the battery powered ships in the world are sailing around Europe, the last couple of years show a rapid increase in Asia as well. Therefore, it is the perfect time to expand the network of maritime battery enablers to Asia. The next speaker in the morning session was Dr. Tang Yi from the Nanyang Technological University. Dr. Tang Yi showed us his work on ‘Wireless charging for maritime applications’. A very interesting development for charging of battery powered ships.

After a coffee break the day continued with a session fully focused on maritime battery technology. First, Dr. Frank Richter from Greenectra provided an ‘Introduction to maritime battery systems’. A quick and clear explanation of how Lithium-ion batteries work, what makes a maritime battery system, and what are the safety considerations related to these battery systems. Up next was Jon Diller from Spear Power Systems. Jon showed us all the advances made in energy density of maritime battery systems over the recent years, but also focused on the different considerations when making improvements in energy density on a system level. The last speaker before lunch was Pradeep Datar from Corvus Energy. Pradeep highlighted the developments in different types of battery systems that Corvus have made over the past years.

One of many discussions including the audience during the day

After a tasty lunch, where the discussions on different possibilities for batteries in the maritime industry in Singapore were really starting to develop, it was time to focus on three local maritime electrification projects. First, Tore Sveen Søreide from Kongsberg Maritime presented the ‘Turn-key hybrid PSV conversion’ that Kongsberg realised this year in Singapore. This was followed by a joint presentation by James Tham from Penguin International Limited and Mohamed Rashed from Razor Blunt Labs. James warmed up the crowd with an introduction of their joined project for Singapore’s first full electric ferries. Mohamed followed with the more technical details and processes leading up to the development of these innovative vessels. Finalizing this session was Nikolai Wedemeyer from SeaTech Solutions International, who highlighted the developments on the ‘all-electric harbour crafts’ for Singapore.

After the final coffee break of the day, Mikele Glavina from ABB Marine & Ports showed us the possibilities of a hybrid solution, combining batteries with hydrogen fuel cells. Second was Victor Yeap, representing the Coastal Sustainability Alliance on the ‘Future of energy management in the maritime industry’. The final presentation of the day was given by Dr. Lionel Moh from Genplus on ‘Minimizing waste in maritime electrification’. In his presentation, Lionel showed the possibilities for second life applications for maritime batteries, or the options to recycle the batteries for its raw materials.

The coffee breaks were also used to discuss electrification of the maritime sector in Singapore

Mr. James Tham knew how to keep the audience to pay attention

To conclude the informative part of the day, a panel discussion was held, providing the insights on the electrification of the maritime sector in Singapore from three different perspectives. Jon Diller from Spear Power Systems provided the North American perspective, Karl Alexander Wirén from Kongsberg Maritime provided the European perspective, and Pradeep Datar from Corvus Energy provided the local perspective from Singapore. The panel gave a good example how information sharing and collaboration on a global level will help the maritime industry in reaching the goals for decarbonziation.

The discussions continued for a good two hours more after the final presentation

The day ended with some refreshments after the final presentations. It was great to see all the networking and discussions going on for a good two hours more, which showed us that we need to come back soon to Singapore to continue these discussions on marine electrification. The Maritime Battery Forum would like to thank its partners from Petromin and MediaComz for making this event possible. Also thanks to Korindo Energy for sponsoring the coffee breaks.

The organizing team from MediaComz and the Maritime Battery Forum