Battery-powered vessel fleet surpasses 2,000 ships, says MBF

The Maritime Battery Forum (MBF) on Thursday (8 October) said data collected on its ship registry confirmed that over 2,000 commercial ships have been delivered with battery installations or are currently on order.

Overall, this fleet represents a massive 2.4 GWh of installed maritime battery capacity, the same electricity to power 240k European homes for the entire day in.

“Reaching 2,000+ ships marks a significant moment for marine electrification,” said Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker, Managing Director of the Maritime Battery Forum. 

“For years, pure electric applications were primarily limited to small ferries operating on short routes. Thanks to advancements in battery pricing and technology, we are passing a crucial tipping point. It now makes clear economic sense to build larger, fully electric ships, and installations scaling up to 100 MWh per vessel are expected to become a reality soon. This milestone proves the technology is ready to scale.”

The data showed that 68% of these vessels operate as hybrids, utilising a battery in combination with another energy source such as a diesel engine or hydrogen fuel cell. Plug-in hybrid vessels represent 13% of the fleet and 18% are purely electric. Over recent years, the average installed capacity has steadily grown to approximately 1.5 MWh per ship. 

While passenger vessels account for the largest segment at 570 ships, the register demonstrates that every type of commercial vessel is now available in a battery-powered configuration. The milestone fleet encompasses a highly diverse profile, including 313 offshore vessels, 265 cargo vessels, 219 fishing vessels, and 149 workboats, alongside hundreds of specialized vessels (145), yachts (116), tugs (83), and cruise ships (83), proving that scalable energy storage can adapt to varied operational requirements across the sector.

Led by Norway, Europe operates most of the documented battery-powered fleet. However, the true global total is substantially larger, as the register currently tracks only 267 ships in China despite the country’s actual fleet being significantly greater. 

While these technological milestones are highly encouraging, the MBF recognises that market momentum alone cannot fully decarbonise global shipping. 

“To bridge this gap, the sector urgently needs the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), a landmark policy up to adoption at the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) this December,” MBF said.

The Framework aims at cutting global shipping’s emissions while generating billions for green financial investments.

“The incredible growth of maritime battery installations proves that zero-emission technologies are available today, but market momentum alone isn’t enough,” stated Madadh MacLaine, Secretary-General of the Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association (ZESTAs). 

“Regulatory pressure and ambitious global frameworks are essential to scaling up these technologies even further. Only a strong global fuel standard and pricing mechanism can drive the global uptake of zero-emission fuels and technologies, including batteries.”

Photo credit: Chris Pagan on Unsplash
Published: 9 October 2026