Maersk commences trial of containerized battery on Containership

A.P.Moller- Maersk is getting ready to test a containerized battery on board one of its containerships as the world’s largest container shipping company continues to develop low carbon solutions in order to meet its environmental goals.

The 600 kWh battery, which is housed inside a shipping container, will be installed on board the 249-meter MV Maersk Cape Town next month.

“This trial will provide a greater understanding of energy storage that will support Maersk in moving towards further electrification of its fleet and port terminals. Maersk will continue to facilitate, test, and develop low-carbon solutions on our journey to become carbon neutral by 2050,” explains Søren Toft, Maersk COO.

While battery power alone is still years away from becoming a technically- and economically viable power source for ocean-going ships, Maersk says batteries can now be used to improve the efficiency of a vessel’s onboard electrical systems, such as auxiliary generators.

“By maintaining the vessel’s auxiliary generators at a more optimal load, and avoiding running generators when not needed, overall fuel consumption can be reduced,” Maersk said in a statement.

Additionally, according to Maersk, the battery will support the generators with up to 1,800 kVA of power during rapid changes in electrical load such as thruster operation, reducing maintanece requirements and providing redundant power, which can improve reliability.

Maersk Cape Town is built a waste heat recovery system, a feature that will help charge the batteries by capturing electrical energy from heat that would otherwise have been lost out of the exhaust gas system for the main propulsion.

“This exciting pilot – the first of its kind in the industry – will show the potential of battery technologies to keep improving the performance of our vessels while also reducing fuel consumption in our non-propulsion electrical systems,” reinforces Ole Graa, Maersk Head of Fleet Technology.

The containerized battery storage system has been manufactured in Odense, Denmark by the system integrator and turnkey supplier Trident Maritime Systems. The battery system will be shortly transported to Singapore where it will be installed on board Maersk Cape Town.

The Singapore-flagged containership was built in 2011 and sails between West Africa and East Asia.

Maersk says the first full voyage with the new system will take place next year and will be closely monitored to evaluate the performance.