AYK Energy has installed the biggest marine battery in the world on board Brittany Ferries new hybrid LNG-electric ferry the Saint Malo.
The 12 megawatt-hour (MWh) Orion+ battery was manufactured and installed within four months at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Weihai. The ferry will operate the Portsmouth UK to St Malo France route starting early next year following successful sea trials.
Furthermore, AYK signed a new deal to supply sister vessel the Guillaume de Normandie with another 12 MWh battery also being built at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Weihai.
We’d like to thank Brittany Ferries for giving AYK the opportunity to supply our advanced battery system to this incredible new vessel. The ferry will be able to operate on zero emission battery power while entering and exiting port, immediately improving air quality and cutting emissions in built up port areas.
…said Chris Kruger, founder, AYK.
Kruger continued by saying that the vessel is designed to run on LNG, battery-power or a combination of the two. In Portsmouth the ship will further benefit from the port’s plug-in shore power, the only ferry port in the UK offering electric shore-to-ship power.
A decade after I installed the battery on the first ever hybrid electric ferry, we are now starting to see battery powered electric ships compete with internal combustion engine vessels on price. That is what has to happen if the industry is going to kickstart the transition to electric ships.
…said Chris Kruger.
The AYK founder added that AYK’s new 5000 sqm Chinese factory in Zhuhai played a key role in installing the batteries in such a tight time frame.
On an exclusive interview for SAFETY4SEA, Chris Kruger explained that the marine industry needs a nudge to get away from its addiction to fossil fuels – instead the industry needs to speed up the adoption of batteries and alternative technologies.
