The electric ship market may usher in a period of rapid development

      In recent years, with the increasing awareness of global environmental protection, the gas emissions (SOx, NOx, CO2, particulate matter, etc.) caused by the shipping industry have attracted widespread attention, and IMO, the European Union, and other countries have also continuously issued corresponding regulations to regulate various types of gas emissions control. Because electric ships can significantly reduce ship exhaust emissions, and some can even achieve zero emissions, their application scale is rapidly expanding and is expected to become the focus of future development.

      At present, there is no clear concept of electric ships. With reference to the classification of electric vehicles, we divide electric ships into pure electric ships, diesel-electric hybrid ships, and fuel cell ships. As far as technology development is concerned, the maturity of fuel cell technology is relatively low. At present, ships have mainly been tested on actual ships, and there are no cases of commercial operation. From the perspective of pure electric ships and diesel-electric hybrid ships, according to statistics, diesel-electric hybrid ships in the world are currently dominated by diesel-electric hybrid ships, accounting for more than 80% of total shipments, and the proportion of pure electric ships is relatively low.

Development status of electric ship market

      Power battery technology and cost are the main obstacles that restrict the large-scale application of electric ships. In recent years, thanks to the rapid development of related technologies, the decline in battery prices, and the increase in environmental protection requirements, electric ships have received more extensive attention and applications. At present, there are 127 electric ships in operation and orders worldwide, of which 53 ships are in operation and 74 ships are planned to be built. At present, the electric ship market mainly presents the following characteristics:

I. Shipment of electric ships has increased significantly in the past decade

      Since 2008, with the continuous implementation of new regulations on ship emissions from the European Union, IMO and other organizations, as well as the continuous maturity of ship batteries and hybrid technologies, the recognition of the electric ship market has continued to increase, and the number of shipments has increased significantly. According to the statistics of existing ship delivery, before 2008, there were only scattered electric ship deliveries in the world, and after 2008, electric ship deliveries were performed every year worldwide, and the number of deliveries is on the rise. According to the statistics of existing orders, it is estimated that from 2018 to 2019, the global electric ship will usher in an outbreak of delivery. It is expected that 27 ships will be delivered in 2018 and 31 ships in 2019, which will exceed the total number of existing ships in the world. After 2020, more orders are expected to appear.

Second, the ship type is mainly car and passenger ferries

      From the perspective of electric ship applications, electric ships are mainly used for passenger and passenger ferries and passenger ships, and some offshore ships also have certain applications. Car and passenger ferries have a fixed route, and the ports of call are densely populated port areas, which have a greater impact on the local environment. Therefore, they are an important type of current electric ship applications. According to statistics, currently there are 18 passenger and passenger ferries operating in the world, accounting for 34% of the total number of electric vessels in operation; 42 handheld orders, accounting for 57% of the total number of handheld orders. Due to the large changes in operating conditions, offshore engineering vessels can make full use of the advantages of diesel-electric hybrid technology and therefore have certain applications. From the perspective of tonnage, the existing electric ships are mainly small and medium-sized ships below 5,000 tons, but the application range has been extended to 30,000 gross tonnage cruise ships.

I. Builder—Havyard Leirvik

      Havyard Leirvik was founded in 1976 and belongs to the Norwegian Havyard Group. It mainly builds offshore vessels and ferries. Havyard Group's business covers ship design, construction, control systems, and aquatic treatment systems on board. The company has branches in Norway, Peru, Brazil, Poland, Croatia, Turkey and China.

      Havyard Leirvik is the main builder of electric ships. Currently four electric ships have been delivered with 13 hand-held orders. At the same time, the company is also an integrator of diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system, which can provide services in the design of propulsion system, power calculation, project management, consulting and so on. The main owner of its hybrid ship is Fjord1.

Operator-Norwegian Fjord1

      Fjord1, Torghatten, Norled and Boreal Transport are four companies in the Norwegian ferry and passenger ferry market. Fjord1 is the leader in Norwegian ferry business with a 50% market share. In order to be competitive in the ever-changing ferry industry, Fjord1 is committed to the application of green technology in the ferry industry. In recent years, Fjord1 has built a large number of hybrid ferries.

      In June 2017, Fjord1 placed an order for 5 new ferries at Havyard Ship Technology, with a total contract value of more than NOK 1 billion (about US $ 117 million). In March 2018, Fjord1 ordered 7 battery-powered ferries at Havyard Group and Cemre Shipyard, with a total value of about 1.2 billion Norwegian kronor (about 140 million US dollars). These battery-powered ferries will be designed by Havyard Group design companies, using zero-emission and low-emission technologies based on electric propulsion.

Third, battery manufacturers-Canadian Corvus Energy

      At present, the main battery supplier for electric ships is Canada's Corvus Energy, which has a market share of over 44% and is basically in a monopoly position. Other battery suppliers include EST-Floattech, Norwegian Electric, PBES, Westcon P & A, and others.

      Corvus Energy was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Canada. The company has a 200 MW semi-automated plant in Vancouver, Canada, and is building a 400 MW fully automated battery plant in Bergen, Norway. It is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019. The company's lithium polymer battery modules have been certified by DNV GL, LR, and ABS.

      At present, Corvus Energy has participated in more than 140 ship projects, with a total installed power of more than 100 MWh and operating hours of up to 2 million hours. The battery system provided by Prinsesse Benedikte, the world's largest hybrid tugboat, has a capacity of up to 2.6MWh, and the entire ship can last for 30 minutes on battery systems alone.

Related suggestions

      Green environmental protection is the eternal theme of ship development. At present, Europe has entered a period of rapid development in electric ships due to its advantages in concepts and technologies. In recent years, China has also increased its emphasis on environmental protection, and put forward new requirements for marine diesel engine exhaust emissions. In July 2018, the State Council issued the "Three-year Action Plan to Win the Blue Sky Defense War", which proposed to promote the upgrade of ship diesel engine emission standards and expand the emission control area; the Ministry of Transport also issued the "Plan for Adjusting Ship Emission Control Areas (Consultation Draft)" 》, Requiring that the scope of emission control areas be expanded and the emission standards be gradually raised.

      At present, there are already cases of construction and application of electric ships in China. For example, the 2,000-ton electric self-unloading vessel built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Co., Ltd. has a battery capacity of about 2400kWh and can last 80 kilometers under full load. The 500-ton pure electric cargo ship transformed by Shanghai Ruihua Group can be navigable once. 50 hours and a range of up to 500 kilometers. The pure battery-powered passenger ship design project received by the Yangtze River Ship Design Institute. The ship has a total length of 100m and is mainly used for tourist routes. Shanghai Fuxing Shipping Co., Ltd. and the 711 Institute jointly created the first domestic diesel-electric power plant. Hybrid tugboat.

      Therefore, in the future, China's electric ship market may usher in a period of rapid development. At present, the application areas of electric ships are mainly in the following aspects. The first is ferries and sightseeing boats along the coastal cities of the river. At present, there are a large number of ferry vessels in China. Only Shanghai and Guangzhou have more than 100 inland passenger ships. Some ferries have a long life. As inland water vessels are eliminated and updated, they may be replaced by electric ships. The second is an inland water cargo ship. The Yangtze River and the Pearl River are the two busiest water systems in China. The number of inland river cargo ships exceeds 100,000, and some of them are older and are about to enter the replacement cycle. Under the influence of the new environmental protection regulations, some ships have the need to update to electric ships. The third is the port tugboat market. China has the world's busiest port. The number of tugboats in the port is more than 300, and the variable working conditions of the tugboat are more suitable for the application of electric ships.