AET and Fleetzero have signed an agreement to develop what the companies say will be the world’s longest-range plug-in hybrid-electric vessel.
The collaboration will involve retrofitting one of AET’s lightering support vessels (LSVs) with a plug-in hybrid-electric system. The vessel will operate mainly on battery power and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 82% compared with a conventional LSV on a tank-to-wake basis.
AET said the retrofit is projected to avoid around 1,220 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year and should reduce the vessel’s fuel consumption and maintenance costs while maintaining existing safety standards.
The agreement was signed at AET Offshore’s office in Galveston, Texas, by Capt Ron Wood, AET’s global director, commercial, and Steven Henderson, CEO of Fleetzero.
Zahid Osman, president and group CEO of MISC Group, AET’s parent company, said, “This partnership marks a pivotal step in our decarbonization journey and energy transition strategy. We are proud to partner Fleetzero in developing the world’s largest plug-in hybrid-electric LSV, reinforcing our commitment to innovative and sustainable solutions in the maritime industry.
“By integrating plug-in hybrid electric solutions into our fleet, we are transforming ambition into action to deliver more energy with less emissions. This pilot project also allows us to evaluate the feasibility and operational performance of this technology, paving the way for potential deployment across AET’s and potentially MISC’s fleet.”
Fleetzero‘s Henderson said the project is intended to support marine electrification while remaining commercially viable.
“We are so excited about this project because it promises to advance marine electrification in a commercially viable way, and the impact is immense – drastically reducing emissions from the vessel operations,” he said.
“Many of us at Fleetzero have served at sea as mariners, and we designed our technology to enhance mariner safety and ease of operations, not only to improve emissions and efficiency. Fleetzero’s technology is built by mariners for mariners.”
The companies said the project will also serve as a pilot to assess the operational performance and wider deployment potential of plug-in hybrid-electric propulsion for maritime support vessels.
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