Zero-Emission Container Ships With Exchangeable Container Batteries in the Making

Japan’s Imoto Lines has partnered with Marindows, a Maritime Software Company, on an ambitious zero-emissions container ship project.

These container ships will have Japan’s first exchangeable or swappable container batteries, onboard storage batteries, generators, and next-gen systems to enable hybrid and zero-emission operations.

The containerised swappable batteries will be recharged on shore with renewable energy. Because they will store and run on renewable energy, they will not release significant carbon dioxide emissions throughout their operational lives.

They will also face demonstration trials on Imoto’s Kobe to Hiroshima route.

The Project will last from April 2024 to March 2027 and focus on challenges faced by Japan’s Maritime Sector, including crew shortage, safe navigation, and decarbonisation.

The initiative is being supported by the Japanese Government’s Ministry of the Environment, which has included it in the FY2024 Carbon Neutral Technology Research and Development Program.

These vessels aim to make shipping sustainable and, due to modularisation, electrification, and land-based support, can operate with few crew members.

According to the Project’s developers, these ships will also reduce operating costs and ensure competitive pricing compared to existing vessels. Their flexible design will allow them to integrate new technologies in the future, eliminating the risk of technical obsolescence.

Ships will also be retrofitted with low-environmental impact generators like biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells.

The 499 gross tonnage container vessels with a 200 TEU capacity, the biggest in Japan, will be built by January 2027 at Miura Shipbuilding, Saiki, Oita Prefecture.

The Ships will have an LOA of 81 m, 13.5 m breadth and 6.6 m depth with a speed of 12.5 knots.

They will function with a hybrid range of 2700 miles and zero emissions capacity with a range of 180 miles with five container batteries.

The ships will be endowed with an EV-optimised design, an exchangeable 20-foot container battery system, a next-gen cockpit system, an onshore-to-ship power supply system, a mooring support system and a battery charging and battery swapping system.

References: Ship Technology, World Cargo News