This report summarises the main results from the activities in WP1, including review of long-term and short-terms energy storage technologies and their use cases in marine vessels.
2.1 Specific parameters and requirements for the marine battery system4.1 Open water power battery4.2 Batteries for marine ships4.2.1 Electric ships. A report published by UK-based IDTechEx explores the potential of electric ships for lithium-ion battery producers. In the document, the market analyst states that these new vessels have some of the largest individual batteries of any electric vehicle sector. In detail, while the typical battery capacity of a pure electric car in the US is 67 kW h and that of a long-haul truck is expected to be somewhere around 600– 1000 kW h, the already operational Ellen ferry has a battery capacity of 4300 kW h. The report states that ''''Ellen is a landmark pure-electric ferry project operating in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea. Taking five years to build, it successfully completed its 10 month stretch of sea trials in June 2020. The project was partially funded by the EU Horizon 2020 project, costing a total of 21.3 million euros, of which the EU supplied 16 million euros.'''' Besides the 4300 kW h Leclanche ́ battery, the ship has a record-breaking 4 MW charging rate, allowing for nearly 1 C charging. Following Ellen''s example, ferry operator Stena Line is working towards installing a 1000 kW h battery system on the ''Stena Jutlandica'', which operates between Gothenburg, Sweden and Frederikshavn, Denmark. Once this first step is taken, Stena plans to connect a 20 000 kW h battery pack to the propellers allowing for a 10 mile pure electric range. Later on, the battery capacity will be expanded to 50 000 kW h, enabling roughly 50 miles of pure-electric range or approximately the distance between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn. In China, the first pure electric container ship in the world was launched in November 2017 to transport coal. IDTechEx''s review reads as follows: ''''according to China News, the power-train is equipped with a mixture of super-capacitors and lithium-ion batteries for a total energy capacity of 2400 kW h; the powertrain reportedly enables a range of 50 miles on a single charge. The vessel currently travels inland down the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, where new emission control areas came into force in January 2019''''. Also in Asia, Asahi Tanker is developing the e5 project for Japan. This would be the first sea-going pure electric and autonomous tanker. It is expected that the 60 metre long ship, whose five e''s stand for electrification, environment, evolution, economy, and efficiency, hits the water by 2022 with a 4000 kW h battery enabling an 80 mile range.92 4.2.2 Hybrid ships. All electric and hybrid ships with energy storage in large Li-ion batteries can provide significant reductions in fuel cost, maintenance, and emissions, as well as improved responsiveness, regularity, and safety.4.5.1 Solar ships. The idea of using solar energy to power ships is not new. There are numerous examples of research studies, experiments, and prototypes that managed to do this. Between these prototypes, some ships use solar energy as an auxiliary means of power in order to cover the electricity needs of the ship, along with other renewable sources, and even as the only power source. However, solar energy is not considered to be able to fully power ships, because of the relatively small energy density that PVs provide. The aforementioned need to turn to greener technologies in the naval sector led to the first steps of implementing solar energy as a power source in modern ships.104 An interesting example is the Auriga Leader, a car carrier ship for Toyota, back in 2009. The vessel is about 200 m long, weighs around 60 000 tons, and carries up to 6200 cars, transporting them from Toyota Motor Corporation factories in Japan to the Port of Long Beach. On the Auriga Leader, 328 solar panels were installed on its top, providing a maximum power output of 40 kW.44This was the first time that a carrier ship used solar energy to cover part of its electricity needs, substituting the auxiliary diesel engines. On that occasion, the panel''s installation not only make the Auriga Leader greener by reducing the pollutants freed to the atmosphere, it also made it more economical and efficient by reducing the vessel''s diesel consumption.105 4.5.2 Wind-powered ships. The immense need for reducing harmful emissions in the maritime industry also requires technologies that have a more drastic impact on the vessels'' operating systems. A representative example of such a technology is based on the idea of exploiting wind power. According to a previous report,45 in the 1970s and 1980s, the Japan Machinery Development Association (JAMDA) was involved in the development of rigid sails, and this led to more than a dozen ships being fitted with JAMDA sails. These sails proved that the use of rigid sails on modern powered ships could lead to significant fuel savings, with reductions of around 30% being reported under certain conditions with this wind power technology. However, rigid sails were not the only technology exploiting wind power for a vessel''s propulsion. Another equally important technology was that of rotor sails, also known as Flettner sails. These sails were invented back in the 1920s and were a result of Flettner''s research in cooperation with Albert Betz, Jacob Ackeret, Ludwig Prandtl, and Albert Einstein. These rotor sails, based on the Magnus effect, did provide significant improvements to the overall efficiency, being at the same time operationally stable and secure under different weather conditions.106In the naval sector, there have been attempts to implement green technologies on board. As far as wind energy is concerned, two representative technologies share the same philosophy with rigid and rotor sails respectively, but this time, discoveries in the material sector (e.g., alloys, carbon fiber) along with digitalization and monitoring (e.g.,5.1 Exploring aluminum battery technology for marine applicationsThe open water power battery (OWP''s) that ''''drinks'''' in sea-water to operate is safer and cheaper, and provides a tenfold increase in range as compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries used for unpiloted underwater vehicles. Most UUVs use lithium-based batteries that have several issues. They are known to catch fire, so UUV-sized batteries areSee more on pubs.rsc v-access [PDF]
This report summarises the main results from the activities in WP1, including review of long-term and short-terms energy storage technologies and their use cases in marine vessels.
Jaya Verma* and Deepak Kumar Marine batteries are designed specifically for marine vehicles with heavier plates and robust construction to withstand the vibration and pounding that can
Siemens seamlessly integrates energy storage into a vessel''s propulsion system to improve performance, whether vessels are run on batter-ies, gas, dual-fuel or diesel engines.
The unique difficulties imposed by a harsh marine environment challenge the unencumbered rise of marine renewable energy generation and storage systems. In this
Battery energy has emerged as a promising alternative for ship propulsion, offering near-zero-emission operation and improved energy efficiency. This survey provides a
ABB''s Containerized Energy Storage System is a complete, self-contained battery solution for a large-scale marine energy storage. The batteries
The unique difficulties imposed by a harsh marine environment challenge the unencumbered rise of marine renewable
he size and uti-lisation of energy storage units installed on marine vessels. The main topic covered by this study describes different approaches to establishing an optimal
This review provides a comprehensive overview of energy storage technologies for hybrid and fully electric marine vessels, with a particular focus on lithium-ion batteries and their
The recent regulation about pollution reduction in port areas promotes the development of electric ships, at least to operate with no fuel during approach and departure.
ABB''s Containerized Energy Storage System is a complete, self-contained battery solution for a large-scale marine energy storage. The batteries and converters, transformer, controls,
Optimization of Marine Energy Storage Systems for Desired Lifetime, Energy Saving and Safety Typical applications of ESS
The European photovoltaic container market is experiencing significant growth in Central and Eastern Europe, with demand increasing by over 350% in the past four years. Containerized solar solutions now account for approximately 45% of all temporary and mobile solar installations in the region. Poland leads with 40% market share in the CEE region, driven by construction site power needs, remote industrial operations, and emergency power applications that have reduced energy costs by 55-65% compared to diesel generators. The average system size has increased from 30kW to over 200kW, with folding container designs cutting transportation costs by 70% compared to traditional solutions. Emerging technologies including bifacial modules and integrated energy management have increased energy yields by 20-30%, while modular designs and local manufacturing have created new economic opportunities across the solar container value chain. Typical containerized projects now achieve payback periods of 3-5 years with levelized costs below $0.08/kWh.
Containerized energy storage solutions are revolutionizing power management across Europe's industrial and commercial sectors. Mobile 20ft and 40ft BESS containers now provide flexible, scalable energy storage with deployment times reduced by 75% compared to traditional stationary installations. Advanced lithium-ion technologies (LFP and NMC) have increased energy density by 35% while reducing costs by 30% annually. Intelligent energy management systems now optimize charging/discharging cycles based on real-time electricity pricing, increasing ROI by 45-65%. Safety innovations including advanced thermal management and integrated fire suppression have reduced risk profiles by 85%. These innovations have improved project economics significantly, with commercial and industrial energy storage projects typically achieving payback in 2-4 years through peak shaving, demand charge reduction, and backup power capabilities. Recent pricing trends show standard 20ft containers (200kWh-800kWh) starting at €85,000 and 40ft containers (800kWh-2MWh) from €160,000, with flexible financing including lease-to-own and energy-as-a-service models available.