Swiss energy storage company Leclanché is to introduce a turnkey solution for the marine industry that will enable hybrid and electric vessels to fast charge when returning to harbors and ports.
Damen Shipyards Group has selected Leclanché to build and provide two fast-charging stations with electrical storage systems at locations on Lake Ontario, Canada, to serve two of the company’s electric ferries.
The Amherst Islander II is a fully electric ferry with a 1.9MWh capacity Leclanché battery system and capacity for 300 passengers and 42 cars. The second e-ferry, called the Wolfe Islander IV, is the larger of the two vessels and features a 4.6MWh Leclanché battery system and the capacity to carry 83 cars and 399 passengers. Both ferries can travel at speeds of up to 12kts and produce zero carbon emissions.
The selected charging solutions will consist of a 3MWh Leclanché battery energy storage system (BESS) located in port-side structures, one in Millhaven, Ontario, and the other in Stella on Amherst Island. The BESS will charge using the harbor grid; when needed, it can be connected to the e-ferries via an 1,800kW DC-DC converter.
The system from Leclanché will enable the vessels to recharge in 10 minutes at each port on the route and has been designed to charge each vessel up to 7,850 times annually, equating to more than 78,500 charge cycles over the solution’s estimated 10-year life expectancy. Furthermore, the BESS is said to feature the industry’s highest standard of fire suppression systems. Both stations will be installed in 2022.
“This partnership is consistent with our goal of being the world’s most sustainable shipbuilder,” explained Leo Postma, sales director Americas at Damen. “Extending our partnership for the onshore fast-charge and electrical storage systems is a natural outgrowth of our business relationship and consistent with our pioneering role in the maritime energy transition. It also provides many benefits to Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation.”
“You can’t have e-ferries or electric trains, buses, trucks or other modes of transportation displace fossil-fueled modes of transportation without a reliable, cost-effective and energy-efficient infrastructure in place,” commented Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché. “Our new zero-emission ports and harbors solution architecture will make it easier for ship designers and port authorities to design, build and welcome to their shores the latest generation of sustainable vessels.”