New larger battery system will be installed aboard a Seaspan cargo ferry

Seaspan Ferries has arranged to have Corvus Energy’s Blue Whale large-scale energy storage system (ESS) installed aboard one of its cargo ferries this summer.

The Blue Whale ESS is a battery system designed for large ships with significant zero-emission energy demand, such as cruise and cargo ships, as well as roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) vessels and roll-on/roll-off passenger ferries. The system features a rack-free design of stacking modular blocks that provide a high volumetric battery room energy density.

For its initial trial this summer, the Blue Whale will be installed aboard the Seaspan Reliant, a ro-ro drop trailer cargo ferry that makes several daily trips in the Salish Sea between British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

By replacing the existing battery room, the Blue Whale will increase the vessel’s energy storage capacity to 1,892 kWh from 545 kWh. With more than triple the previous energy capacity, the Reliant will be able to significantly reduce fuel and emissions by using the stored power for peak shaving, load balancing and even zero-emission operations.

Testing will continue during the vessel’s full operations for the rest of 2021 with all the performance data automatically analysed by Corvus Energy’s cloud-based monitoring and optimization system.

Image from Corvus Energy