Energy storage system on board a passenger ferry.

Copenhagen/Hamburg, Mar. 9, 2018—Classification society DNV GL has announced the launch of a joint development project (JDP) designed to advance the understanding of the use of lithium-ion batteries in the shipping industry. More than a dozen partners from the entire value chain have joined the initiative including flag states, research institutions, battery and propulsion suppliers, fire detection and extinguishing system providers and ship owners, operators and yards.

“Including batteries in ships, whether as a hybrid or fully electric system, offers the industry the opportunity to improve fuel economy, reliability and operational costs,” Geir Dugstad, Director of Ship Classification and Technical Director in DNV GL – Maritime said. “For this technology to fully take hold, however, knowledge and requirements must be in place to ensure that we have products and a safety regime that address the concerns of all stakeholders while also creating the conditions for this technology to take off in the market.”

The JDP officially kicked off at the end of 2017, with five major tasks defined: safety model development and assessment based on prior knowledge; concerted lithium-ion battery risk assessment; battery safety testing program; battery safety simulation and analysis tool development and refinement; and project management, dissemination and input to requirements and rules.

The project will wrap up with dissemination activities in 2019. At the end, the partners involved in the JDP hope they will be equipped with the knowledge to optimize their own products and services while also creating valuable input that will help push the development of the batteries themselves, as well as the associated systems, procedures and approval processes.

Source: DNV GL – Maritime