Japanese marine energy technology company PowerX has launched a giant containerised battery to power ships and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The technology involves storing giant lithium-ion phosphate batteries in 10-foot and 20-foot containerised units, or smaller more versatile power racks.
The idea is that the containerised batteries are used as an onboard power source.
According to PowerX its batteries are less prone to ignition and thermal runaway than ternary lithium-ion batteries and have a life span of over 6,000 cycles.
“As global warming has become an increasingly significant issue in recent years, the global demand for hybrid or electric vessels is rapidly expanding in order to accelerate the transition to decarbonisation,” PowerX said.
“With the continuous expansion of the electric ship market, the demand for marine storage batteries is expected to grow rapidly in response to the electrification of ships and the promotion of renewable energy use at ports.”
The product has been approved by classification societies ClassNK and DNV.
The giant batteries will be built at PowerX’s battery assembly factory in Japan.
PowerX was launched last year to develop battery technology that would allow the seaborne transportation renewable energy from wind farms in ships.
It has already developed battery technology for ultrafast electrical vehicle charging which will use wind farm energy.
It has teamed up with Imabari Shipbuilding and NYK Line to build a prototype ship to transport windfarm energy in batteries.
