Battery boxes containing 1,600kWh of electricity, of sizes similar to standard 20-foot containers, can be loaded onto the cargo ship to increase its travel range, reported SCMP. With 24 battery boxes, the 394-foot (120-meter) long and 78-foot (24-meter) wide vessel can complete a trip that consumes 80,000kWh of electricity. While any other non-electric ship would consume over 15 tons of fuel for the same journey, reports Interesting Engineering.
Battery-powered propulsion for the whole voyage
“It could achieve significant emission reductions throughout the year and provide strong support for the shipping industry to achieve the goal of ‘peaking’ carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality,” said Cosco on WeChat, according to SCMP.
Its first trip with “zero emissions, pollution, and noise has set a new benchmark for the transformation of the shipping industry towards the goals of low carbon and environmentally friendliness”, added Cosco.
According to Cosco, the vessel carries an intelligent ship system consisting of an integration platform, navigation, cabin, and energy efficiency.
The ship adopts battery-powered propulsion for the voyage and has a maximum speed of 12 mph (19.4 km/h).
Reduce carbon dioxide emissions
The total capacity of the battery is more than 50,000 kWh, which can be renewed through the box-type mobile power supply, a fixation of long charging time, low loading capacity, and short range of the traditional electric container ship.
It is expected that the ship can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2,918 tonnes, equivalent to 2,035 family cars a year, or 160,000 trees.
Crew members of Greenwater 01 received special training to tackle fire during any emergencies, according to Zhang Lifu, Yangshan Port officer in Shanghai.
A fire accident related to lithium iron phosphate batteries can’t be put out by carbon dioxide or water, the usual practice for fires on ships. It can only be extinguished by a special fire suppression gas which is a compound of carbon, fluorine, and hydrogen, according to Zhang.
“For this fire extinguishing method, the most challenging part is to train the crew members so that they can detect the fire accident in the battery boxes in advance and take emergency responses,” Zhang told CCTV.
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Source: Interesting Engineering
