Maritime batteries are a mature technology to reduce emissions
In an exclusive interview with SAFETY4SEA, Lars Christian Larsen, former Chairman of the Maritime Battery Forum, highlights that maritime batteries are currently best utilized for the short sea segment and explains that the MBF is currently working on projects for battery container standardization and the promotion of a shore charging facility investment particular in UK.
With an increase in electric propulsion systems on board ships, the need for batteries to make ships as efficient as possible will grow as well, Mr. Larsen notes, adding that batteries are the perfect match for all alternative fuels.
Safety 4 Sea : What are your projections with regards to marine batteries ? What do you expect in the next 5-10 years?
Lars Christen Larsen : First, it is important to remember that batteries are not a source of energy, it is a storage location for energy. All batteries need to be charged. There is not going to be one solution to decarbonize the shipping industry, and batteries with shore/offshore charging could definitely not provide the power and energy to all ships by themselves. Batteries are currently best utilized for the short sea segment. For the deep sea segment, only as supplement. Therefore it is important to invest in all different technologies that can help in providing clean energy to ships. The advantage of batteries is that there are not many other aids that can store and provide electricity as efficiently as batteries do.
With an increase in electric propulsion systems on board ships, the need for batteries to make ships as efficient as possible will grow as well. Batteries are the perfect match for all alternative fuels that are being developed, and their flexibility will help in developing the hybrid propulsion systems optimized for different types of ships with different types of operational profiles. We are seeing that the battery sizes that are being installed on board ships are increasing as well. The average battery capacity installed per ship increased by a factor 3 over the last 7 years. In 2023 the average installed battery capacity per ship will be around 1.4 MWh. With currently the largest batteries on board ships of around 10 MWh, it won’t be long before we will see batteries of 50 MWh or more sailing around the world, and who knows where it will go from there?
“The time that batteries are mainly used on ferries is past us, and we see now that literally any ship type you can think of, comes in a battery powered version.”