The first “Energy Tanker” will depart from Japan in 2025
Japanese clean energy startup PowerX offers a maritime solution for transporting clean energy from places rich in renewable resources to places lacking in green energy sources. To allow this type of transport, the company has presented a detailed design of the first "Battery Tanker", christened ship X, which should be completed by 2025.
The company believes that these Battery Tankers can store and transport excess electricity produced from renewable sources. “ Decommissioned or inactive thermal power plants located near ports can be retrofitted into charge/discharge points for Battery Tankers, where energy is transmitted to users via connections to the mains electricity grid, enabling further effective use of renewable energy ” reads a release from PowerX.
The need for such transport solutions is justified by the fact that areas with high renewable energy generation potential are often far away from urban areas and other regions with high energy demand. This requires infrastructure for energy transmission. “Given the current energy density of Li-ion battery cells, the Battery Tanker is an optimal solution for maritime short-distance land-to-shore power transmission, complementing existing inter-regional grid transmission lines.”
A safe and modular design
The dimensions of the electric propulsion vessel are 140 meters in length and will be equipped with 96 containerized marine batteries, for a total capacity of 241 MWh. The vessel offers a cruising range of up to 186 miles (300 kilometers). Here is a related video
The onboard battery system is based on PowerX's proprietary module design with proven lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells that provide a life of over 6,000 cycles. Additionally, the battery system is expandable, allowing more batteries to be added to build larger electric transport boats to meet various requirements. To ensure safety, the system is equipped with special components for gas emission control and fire suppression. Real-time monitoring of the battery system, charge controllers and power conversion systems further enhances safety precautions.
According to PowerX, all batteries will be produced in-house at the manufacturing facility in Japan. The batteries will receive international marine classification certifications and applicable standards, such as DNV and Class NK, and will undergo rigorous testing to meet the most stringent requirements. The batteries will be delivered from mid-2024.
Possibility of electricity grids across the oceans
The company hopes the Battery Tankers can be used to create new energy transmission networks across the seas, promoting the storage, supply and use of renewable energy. “As the energy density of batteries improves and their cost decreases, long-distance maritime transmission from offshore wind farms to onshore is expected to become feasible.”
Battery tankers are an efficient alternative, especially in earthquake-prone and deep-sea Japan. According to PowerX, its solution will make it possible to build offshore wind farms in regions where laying submarine cables previously presented difficulties. Battery Tankers can be used to transmit marine electricity, thus addressing a number of problems related to offshore wind energy, not only for Japan but also for the global adoption of renewable energy.
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The article The first "Energy Tanker" will leave Japan in 2025 comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-prima-nave-cisterna-denergia-partira-dal-giappone-nel-2025/ on Tue, 30 May 2023 16:19:52 +0000.