Batteries - Fact Sheet No.4

Batteries

Fact Sheet N 4

Edition I - October 2024

Key Facts

Opportunity for local emission free sailing

Funded by the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Union under grant agreement No 101096809

Funded by the Horizon Europe guarantee of the United Kingdom, under project No 10068310

Funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation

Catalogue of

Greening Technologies

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Batteries

FACT SHEET N 4

Introduction

This fact sheet offers insight into battery electric propulsion, ranging from relevant regulations, technical concepts, information on economics and environmental sustainability as well as references to deployed examples. Batteries can be used as the sole power source or in combination with a more conventional, e.g. Diesel-electric drivetrain. Battery is defined as a medium that can store electrical energy gained by chemical processes. A huge number of different types of battery exists, which differs mainly in the usage of different materials leading to different chemical reaction. According to the material, the properties such as size, energy density and life time differs in a wide range. For the application of batteries on ships, two types of batteries come into consideration: Lead-acid batteries and Lithium-ion batteries.

Physical properties

Lithium-Ion Battery

The most favorable batteries for ship propulsion are Lithium-Ion Batteries. Lithium-Ion Battery is a generic term for a variety of similar batteries. They all do have a graphite anode but different lithium compound cathode. As electrolyte a non-aqueous liquid is used. The most interesting subtypes are:

Lithium-Cobalt Oxide (LiCoO2, LCO), Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP), Lithium-Manganese Oxide (LiMn2O4, LMO), Lithium Titanate (Li4Ti5O12, LTO), Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2, NMC), and Lithium-Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminium Oxide (LiNiCoAlO2, NCA).

The way of function for all subtypes is based on the lithium-ion intercalation (or insertion), which is the process of moving lithium ions between the positive (cathode) and negative (anode) electrodes of the battery during charging and discharging. But due to their different materials, the characteristics, like specific energy (gravimetric density), specific power, safety, performance, life span, and cost, differs over a wide range.

The specific energy, the life span and safety are important characteristics batteries used on a vessel for propulsion. Nevertheless, also the costs are not negligible.

One single cell has a voltage between 2.4 V and 3.7 V, they can be put together to modules and the modules can be stacked to a battery pack, which will deliver the according voltage and provide the storage capacity needed for propulsion of a ship. Coming to a battery pack, consisting of hundreds of cells, a battery management system (BMS) is needed, which monitors and regulates the voltage, temperature, and current during discharge and charge.

Figure 1: Average characterisics of different Lithium-Ion Batteries

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Emissions

When talking about emissions, there are initially different ways of looking at them: On the one hand, a distinction is made between toxic and climate-impacting emissions. On the other hand, a distinction is made between local and global emissions. Examples of toxic emissions are nitrogen oxides, particulates, formaldehyde, etc., while climate-impacting emissions include CO2, methane, laughing gas, etc. Local emissions have effects on the immediate surroundings of the source, such as toxicity. The effects of global emissions are not limited locally; they can be climate-impacting substances, for example, or the now banned CFC, which damages the ozone layer or sulphur emissions from the seagoing sector.

If the emissions caused by a propulsion technology or an energy source are to be assessed, there are again various approaches. The most common are the well-to-wake and the tank-to-wake approach. In the well-to-wake approach, the emissions from the entire upstream chain required for the production and supply of an energy carrier are considered. For an engine, a fuel cell or a battery this approach is called Life-Cycle-Analysis. The tank-to-wake approach looks at the emissions generated by the ship during use. Everything that happened before the energy carrier, storage system or energy converter came on board is excluded. These two definitions can produce very different results in the assessment of the technologies. For example, when considering the overall chain, the choice of a methanol combustion engine could be better than that of a battery-electric drive. This is the case if the production of the battery causes more emissions than the combustion of methanol. It is important to note that this type of consideration is also different for each ship and depends on its operating time and energy requirements. The following table shows the relevant emissions for this fact sheet.

Regulations

For inland waterway vessels the ES-TRIN 2025 Chapter 11 Special provision applicable to electric vessel propulsion deals with regulations for electric propulsion:

One electrical power source required for electric propulsion systems with a single main propulsor
Two electrical power sources required for electric propulsion systems with more than one main propulsors

Emission compared to conventional diesel

Local

Global

GHG

NO_X

SO_X

PM

The global GHG emissions are dependent on the electricity source. Also, a battery LCA is helpful to see the full story.

better

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Redundancy not generally required, however, independence of two electric propulsion systems (where required by other provisions of the ES-TRIN, e.g. for passenger vessels) only to be assumed if
Power supply circuits of the electric propulsion engines completely separate from one another, OR
A FMEA-S safety study demonstrates that no failure of one electric propulsion system impairs the operation of the other, OR
The electric propulsion systems can be separated from each other by a separating device automatically activated in case of malfunction or failure of one of the electric propulsion systems
Manually operated emergency shut-down device for each electric engine
Electrical power sources must be capable of absorbing power feedback occurring during reversing manoeuvres
Generators, transformers and switchgear must be designed for temporary overloads and the effects of manoeuvres according to their application and operating conditions
Load changes, including brief overloads, and manoeuvres must not impair safe operation of electric propulsion engines
Externally cooled power electronics must have emergency running characteristics ensuring "steerageway under the vessel’s own power” for at least 30 minutes. This requirement does not apply in the presence of a second independent propulsion system (see above)
Control, indicating and monitoring requirements harmonised with other propulsion systems and set up – as far as possible – in a technologically neutral way (Article 7.04)
For integrated power management systems / energy supply systems priority is required for systems necessary for the safe operation of the vessel.
Test concept for electric propulsion systems to be developed by the manufacturer or the system integrator, based on minimum requirements defined in ES-TRIN.

Article 10.11 (17) (ES-TRIN 2025) deals with the placement of Li-Ion accumulators:

Rooms in which Li-Ion accumulators are stored shall be protected against fire of one or several Li-Ion accumulators on the basis of a fire protection concept developed by an expert.
A fire protection concept may be dispensed with if the Li-Ion accumulators are stored in a fireproof enclosure which is equipped with at least one monitoring device (fire and thermal runaway) and with one fixed fire extinguishing installation for protecting objects.
The rooms must be shielded with A60 partitions all round. The rooms or the fireproof enclosures of Li-Ion accumulators must be mechanically ventilated to the open deck, the ventilation outlet shall be positioned in such a way as to not endanger the safety of persons on board.
A fire protection concept or the protective measures described above are not necessary if the cumulative capacity of the Li-Ion accumulators in the room is below 20 kWh.

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Passenger vessels

ES-TRIN 2025 does not foresee specific requirements for passenger vessels with regard to Li-Ion accumulators, the general requirements in accordance with Chapters 10 and 11 apply.

ADN

The ADN under 1.1.3.7 foresees a general exemption from its provisions concerning electric energy storage and production systems installed in a means of transport, performing a transport operation and destined for its propulsion or for the operation of any of its equipment.

Accumulators shall be located outside the protected area (dry cargo vessels – 9.1.0.52.4) respectively outside the cargo area (tank vessels (9.3.x.52.10).Ventilation openings of accumulator rooms must comply with the safety conditions as specified in 9.1.0.12.3 to 9.1.0.12.6 (dry cargo vessels) and 9.3.x.10.4 and 9.3.x.12.4 to 9.3.x.12.6 (tank vessels) of the ADN.

Technical Concept

Fixed batteries are suitable for hybrid ships and for ships with lower energy requirements, such as day-trip ships, or with frequent charging options, such as ferries. For large vessels on a relatively fixed route, swappable battery containers can be a good option.

Battery management system (BMS)

The battery management system (BMS), represented on Figure 2, is an electronic system that manages a rechargeable battery (cell or battery pack) by enabling the safe use and long life of the battery in practical scenarios by monitoring and estimating its various states (such as state of health and state of charge), calculating secondary data, reporting this data, controlling its environment, confirming, or balancing it. re).

The thermal management system ensures homogenous Cooling, equal conditions for all cells by ventilation or liquid forced-flow. This ensures long battery lifetime and is essential to avoid thermal runaway (exothermal reaction battery cell due to internal failure).

Figure 2: Principle of a battery management system

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Concept for installation on board

As it can be seen in Figure 3, the electric motor (1) drives the propeller with constant rpm (revolutions per minute) at any load case. Its advantage is a nearly constant efficiency at all load cases. Depending on the selected electric motor a gear box can be omitted. The frequency converter (2) supplies the electric motor with a frequency and voltage amplitude variable AC voltage. The converter can be supplied by any AC or DC on board energy grid. The rotational speed of the electric motor is controlled by varying the output frequency. The load controller (3) distributes the energy from all sources to all loads. The loads are frequency converters at the propulsion systems, bow thruster (5), board net (6), pump systems, etc.. It can be designed as a single AC or DC rail, which can be split in a starboard and portside system. The batteries (4) can be charged via a shore power connection (7).

Figure 3: Propulsion Concept

Bunkering & Infrastructure

Nowadays, so-called power lock connectors are available for the shore power connection. However, these are only suitable for fast charging a battery to a limited extent, as there is a disbalance between the available charging power and the size of the battery. The so-called megawatt charging system would be more suitable. Here it is possible to charge with a charging power of 1 MW to 4.5 MW. The plug and connection on the ship must be cooled. So far, this system has only been tested for road transport, but for charging the ZES power packs it is also in use.

Economics

The investment and operating costs are highly dependent on the individual ship and its operational profile. Nevertheless, there are key figures for some components. These are linked to a database so that they are updated as soon as new information is available.

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Investment Costs

The electrification of the propulsion system can cost, dependent on the vessel size and system architecture, between 250 000 € and 2 000 000 €.

The investment for a fixed battery is between 750€ and 1000€ per kW.

Operational Costs

Currently, the price for electricity is between 0.1 € and 0.3 € per kWh. However, the costs are very different locally.

Economic Drivers

At the moment, total costs of ownership are higher than fossil fuel alternatives. ZES uses carbon-insetting programs, HBEs (Dutch for Renewable energy units) and smart charging (potentially using the terminals’ PV) to offer a competitive price. The expectancy of stricter regulations, CO2 pricing and the innovative concept can be economic drivers.

Considerations for Deployment

When is a fully battery-electric ship a good solution? What about partly full-electric sailing?

Newbuild vs existing vessel
Existing vessels have to be retrofitted. Retrofitting costs are significantly lower if vessel already has an electric drivetrain. The vessels construction year and the drivetrain's age are two more factors to consider
The additional expenses when choosing for battery-electric drivetrain are lower for newbuild vessels, which can be designed optimally with the given drivetrain technology in mind.
Cargo type
Container vessels are already designed to transport container, making the integration of battery containers relatively easy for both newbuild and refitting.
Dry bulk vessels require more effort to integrate with battery containers, although very much possible, especially for newbuild.
Wet bulk vessels are generally not ‘refittable’ due to spacing limitation and safety concerns. Newbuild wet bulk vessels might be considered as niche market.
Container vessel sailing routes align better with charging stations’ locations, which are situated at inland container terminals.
On the other hand, bulk vessels generally do not stop at inland terminals, meaning they have to make extra stops (not always a problem given occasional long waiting times).
Vessel size
For swappable battery containers larger vessels offer more return on investment potential compared to smaller ones. Vessels below 1000 tons of loading capacity can be seen as unfeasible. From ~1800 tonnes onwards the vessel's size does not play a significant role anymore.

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Concluding for swappable battery containers:

Container vessels generally have very high potential.
Larger dry bulk vessels that are sailing route align decently with charging network are very feasible.
Wet bulk vessels are a niche market
Sailing with battery electric propulsion will give more and more flexibility as battery technologies improve and charging station are added to the network. This makes it less and less necessary to rely on hybrid propulsion setups (for instance with gen-sets).

Deployment Example

Vessel type | Ferry

ENI | 9683611

Vessel Size | 79.4 m x 21.44 m

Build Year | 2015

Propulsion | 2 x 450 kW

Battery Capacity | 1040 kWh, charging at every crossing

Ampere Source: Wikimalte

Source: News Oresund

Vessel type | Ferry

ENI | 9007128

Vessel Size | 111.2 m x 28.22 m

Year Built | 1992

Propulsion | 4 x 1500 kW

Battery Capacity | 4.160 kWh, automated charging at every crossing with 10.5 kV, 600A and 10.5MW

Aurora af Helsingborg

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Vessel type | Day Cruise

ENI | 04028970

Vessel Size | 38.0 m x 5.2 m

Year Built | 1985

Propulsion | 2 x 108 kW

Battery Capacity | 570 kWh BMZ batteries

MS Heisingen

Source: Weiße Flotte Baldeney

Vessel type | Container vessel

ENI | 02338177

Year Built | 90.0 m x 10.5 m

Build Year | 2018

Propulsion | 2 x 400 kW

Battery Capacity | 2 ZES packs, 2600 kWh

Alphenaar Source: ZES B.V.

Batteries

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Contact

DST

+49 203 99369 0

www.dst-org.de

Igor Bačkalov

+49-203-99369-27

backalov@dst-org.de

Benjamin Friedhoff

+49-203-99369-29

friedhoff@dst-org.de

Argo-Anleg GmbH (DE)

FPS – Future Proof Shipping (NL)

Mercurius Shipbuilding BV (NL)

ZES – Zero Emission Services (NL)

Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (FR)

Sogestran (FR)

Koedood Diesel Service BV (NL)

CMB – Revolve Technologies Ltd. (UK)

SPB – Stichting Projecten Binnenvaart (NL)

Scandinaos AB (SE)

MARIN – Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (NL)

viadonau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-GmbH (AT)

TTS – Transport Trade Services GmbH (AT)

ZT Büro Anzböck Richard (AT)

EUFRAK – Euroconsults Berlin GmbH (DE)

CRS – Hrvatski Registar Brodova (HR)

OST – Ostschweizer Fachhochschule (CH)

Project Coordinator

DST - Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems

Partners

Disclaimer

The content of the publication herein is the sole responsibility of the publishers and it does not necessarily represent the views expressed by the European Commission or its services. While the information contained in the document is believed to be accurate, the author(s) or any other participant in the SYNERGETICS consortium make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Neither the SYNERGETICS Consortium nor any of its members, their officers, employees or agents shall be responsible or liable in negligence or otherwise howsoever in respect of any inaccuracy or omission herein.