According to a new study, improvements in batteries have widened the potential to electrify big containerships on voyages of up to 5,000 km.
The study called “Rapid battery cost declines accelerate the prospects of all-electric interregional container shipping” was published in the Nature Energy Journal on 18 July 2022.
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It specifically explores the economic and environmental benefits of direct electrification of containerships. Namely, the main findings of the study report the following:
- Efficiency advantage: Electrification of container vessels is more economical and 3-5-times more efficient than fuels such as green hydrogen and ammonia
- Increasing availability: More than 40% of global containership traffic could be electrified cost-effectively with current technology within the 2020s.
- Environmental benefits: Battery-electric container shipping could reduce CO2 emissions by 14% for US-based vessels.
The authors used the best-available battery costs and energy densities, defining two scenarios. The first is a baseline scenario using today’s best-available battery costs, HFO costs, battery energy densities and renewable energy prices.
The second is a near-future scenario that tests the impacts of projected 2030 improvements in these variables.
EXPLORE MORE AT THE STUDY ON BATTERIES COST
