Two companies have had their lithium-ion energy storage systems approved for use in a variety of hybrid and fully electric maritime applications in Norway.
Saft, the French firm brought out by utility company Total earlier this year Seanergy® marine lithium-ion Super-Phosphate® (SLFP) ESS has been approved by the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA).
NMA has also approved Canadian firm Plan B Energy Storage (PBES) marine ESS for use in electric and hybrid vessels in Norway.
Both of the Seanergy® systems and PBES system were tested in thermal runaway situations, both passing the test on each occasion.
PBES systems use a CoolCell™ (a thermal runaway protection system) and E-Vent™ (which extracts gas from the battery space, allowing any flammable or explosive gases produced by a battery failure to be removed and dispersed safely).
Last month PBES announced an energy storage supply contract for the two largest battery-powered ferries in the world. Each of the two Scandlines Helsingborg-Helsingör ferries will have 4.16 MWh lithium-ion batteries to provide power for primary propulsion.
“Norwegian Maritime Authority approval is the most important validation PBES could receive,” said Brent Perry, chief executive of PBES. “The recognition by an organization like NMA shows the world that the safe deployment of lithium energy storage is no longer a goal, it is here today.”
IMAGE: PBES rack