CIMAC and Maritime Battery Forum publish paper on batteries in deep-sea shipping

CIMAC and the Maritime Battery Forum have published the first of three white papers on the environmental impact of batteries in deep-sea shipping.

Deep-sea ship batteries

The paper offers an examination of use cases and application areas within this field. Representatives from CIMAC’s Greenhouse Gas Strategy Group, Working Group 20 System Integration, Working Group 21 Propulsion and the Maritime Battery Forum consolidated their knowledge and existing literature with empirical data in a comprehensive paper exploring the existing use cases and potential applications of batteries on today’s deep-sea vessels.

According to the partners, the paper on use cases and application areas demonstrates that there is still potential for battery usage within the industry to support decarbonization. While the paper found that a fully battery-powered, zero-emission application is not available, it highlighted that battery usage may also be enhanced by the rise of alternative fuels, depending on needs based on changing design and sizing choices.

Decarbonizing the maritime industry

Dirk Bergmann, chair of the CIMAC Greenhouse Gas Strategy Group, said, “Our objective was to provide relevant stakeholders in the maritime industry and other interested parties with an overview of the available options, while also outlining the boundaries of what is feasible. It was important for us to do that in cooperation with the Maritime Battery Forum, creating a series of papers that are neutrally covering the state-of-the-art without any bias or sentiments.”

Syb Ten Cate Hoedemaker, managing director of the Maritime Battery Forum, commented, “Batteries will play an important role in the decarbonization of the maritime industry. To answer questions concerning what that role might entail within the deep-sea shipping sector, our two organizations combined their expertise. The release of the document on use cases and application areas provided a concise overview of industry practice and viable options, which is crucial for evaluating potential courses of action for numerous stakeholders within the maritime industry. We will be following up with a paper on regulation, safety and the human factor, that will address additional critical issues concerning the environment of batteries onboard deep-sea going ships.”

The upcoming paper on regulation, safety and impact on staff is expected to be published by the end of 2025. This will be followed by the third paper, which will address the main topics of energy storage and integration, including life-cycle assessment, operation range and limits.

For more of the top insights into the challenges to shipowners in the decarbonization process, read Electric and Hybrid Marine Technology International’s exclusive interview with Elias Boletis, chair of CIMAC Working Group 10, here.