Port power banks

Photo: Stena Line

Stena Line, Stena Rederi, Stena Recycling and its daughter company Batteryloop, the ports of Gothenburg and Kiel, and DNV GL have partnered to run an EU-backed project that will investigate the re-use of Li-on batteries for charging during port calls.

The two-year-long initiative will look into ways in which batteries previously used by the transport sector can be utilized anew for the needs of the shipping industry, such as charging electric ferries in case there's no fixed onshore power supply station or when the demand exceeds the network's capacity.

"There's so much happening on the battery side nowadays. New solutions have to be brought forth in order to satisfy the future charging needs of the transport sector, particularly if sea shipping is to shift onto electrical propulsion. For instance, it requires an enormous amount of energy to fast-charge a large ferry. It isn't obvious that the power network can deliver on that. As such, local port power banks seem to be a smart solution," Rasmus Bergström, CEO, Batteryloop, commented (the company has recently struck a deal with Volvo Buses to re-use batteries from their e-buses).

He added, "One thing's for sure, batteries are here to stay with us. In order to save natural resources and do it in a sustainable way, we must do all it takes to keep using batteries as long as possible. Our conclusion is that many batteries can get a new life as power banks. If we can find solutions that are scalable and work in a port environment, then we'll have a win-win in many ways."

"This is an important milestone for the electrification of sea shipping. To succeed with our future project that we’re blueprinting, the fully electric ferry Stena Elektra, we need to, among other things, solve the charging issue. Port power banks that are made of re-used batteries is a very interesting and sustainable alternative for the future," Per Wimby, Project Leader Electrification, Stena Teknik, added.

Since 2018, Stena Line has been using battery power to run Stena Jutlandica's manoeuvring thrusters during docking operations.