Review of the Design and Technology Challenges of Zero-Emission, Battery-Driven Fast Marine Vehicles

Abstract

The paper deals with a critical review of unique problems and challenges related to the design and technology of zero-emission, battery driven, fast marine vehicles. The uniqueness of the ensuing ship design problem is the request to fit maximum battery capacity and to ensure minimum required power in order to achieve the set operational requirements for high service speed and sufficient range. The high-speed requirement is inherently connected with the request for minimum structural and lightship weight, while the design needs also to comply with set regulatory safety constraints. The underlying research is in the frame of the EU funded project TrAM (Transport: Advanced and Modular) and leads to the development and construction of a physical demonstrator for operation in the Stavanger area in Norway. The paper discusses the incurring critical issues, discusses the feasibility of the concept and concludes on the way ahead.

Environmental economic analysis of speed reduction measure onboard container ships

“…Ships consider the most important means of international transportation as it transports more than 90% of global trade (Michail and Melas 2020 ). Partners in the maritime field are seeking supporting the maritime sector to achieve the blue economy concept (Kim et al 2020 ; Papanikolaou 2020 ). On the other hand, the technical and commercial development in the marine sector contributed significantly to the deterioration of the maritime environment (Mallouppas and Yfantis 2021 ).…”

Numerical Investigation of the Resistance of a Zero-Emission Full-Scale Fast Catamaran in Shallow Water

“…The research presented herein was conducted in the European Commission (EC) funded research project TrAM (Transport: Advanced and Modular, https://tramproject.eu/ (accessed on 23 April 2021)), which aims at designing and manufacturing battery-powered fast catamarans operating in coastal areas and inland waterways by implementing modular design and production methods. Given the significant lower specific energy content of batteries compared to conventional fuels [1], the design of zero-emission high-speed marine vehicles poses unique challenges and limitations which are tackled within the TrAM project. These include the selection of the appropriate battery technology and specification, safety considerations, and of course, multi-objective hull form optimisation in the presence of shallow water effects [1][2][3][4].…”

“…Given the significant lower specific energy content of batteries compared to conventional fuels [1], the design of zero-emission high-speed marine vehicles poses unique challenges and limitations which are tackled within the TrAM project. These include the selection of the appropriate battery technology and specification, safety considerations, and of course, multi-objective hull form optimisation in the presence of shallow water effects [1][2][3][4]. The present study is focused on the battery-driven, zero-emission 'TrAM London Demonstrator', designed for The Thames River.…”

MPC Framework for the Energy Management of Hybrid Ships with an Energy Storage System

“…In [17], four different propulsion configurations in megayachts have been compared and significant advantages in hybrid propulsion have been identified when combined with fast shore charging in marinas with local smart grids. The feasibility of zero-emission high-speed catamaran vessels has been one of the subjects for [18,19], where the importance of charging stations has also been identified as crucial. Finally, battery installations can be combined with fuel cell systems on board ships in order to improve efficiency and dynamic behavior [20,21].…”