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by puelocesar 52 days ago
That’s a nice development. But the article fails to mention which kind of battery the vessel will use, which I thought was the main reason we didn’t have these kinds of ships yet.
3 comments

The main reason we don't use batteries for ships is energy density of batteries and as a consequence the range of the ship.

"The vessel is equipped with 10 container-shaped power units with a total power supply capacity of about 19,600 kilowatt-hours."

https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202604/16/WS69e0ee90a310d...

19600 kWh of stored energy is about equivalent to 7 ton of diesel when burnt in diesel engine with 25% thermal efficiency

"Fuel consumption by a containership is mostly a function of ship size and cruising speed, which follows an exponential function above 14 knots. For instance, while a containership of around 8,000 TEU would consume about 225 tons of bunker fuel per day at 24 knots. At 21 knots, this consumption drops to about 150 tons per day, a 33% decline."

https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter4/transportat...

Standard LFP cells - with higher QA and optimized for safety over performance

The pack/container is (over?) designed for fire suppression and humidity control

CATL and also CALB have specific marine-grade product lines

At sea - even at full power - the packs discharge relatively slow

Congratulations on six zeros.
It is especially profitable for China. Promoting batteries for shipping is their strategic direction. They hold control over the global supply chain.