Huge potential for Singapore domestic harbourcraft electrification by 2030/2050, says ERMA FIRST

Electrification technology will be able to help Singapore’s fleet of domestic harbourcraft decarbonise in the future, states Chinmoy Ghose, Managing Director at METIS Cyberspace Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (METIS).

Ghose was speaking on behalf of Greece-based environmental maritime solutions provider, ERMA FIRST Group, the parent company of METIS.

ERMA FIRST, while known for its ballast water treatment systems, is also the manufacturer of the Alternative Maritime Power solution ERMA FIRST BLUE CONNECT AMP, which facilitates a vessel’s connection to a port’s electrical grid to power onboard services, systems, and equipment.

Ghose was commenting on the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)’s Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint: Working Towards 2050 document which outlines electrification as a long-term fuel choice for domestic harbour craft.

According to the document, all domestic harbour craft will operate on low-carbon energy solutions by 2030 and full electric propulsion and net zero fuels by 2050, to achieve 15% reduction in absolute emissions from 2021 levels by 2030 and 50% reduction on in absolute emissions from 2030 levels by 2050.

“Harbour craft electrification is a viable solution for Singapore’s long term decarbonisation strategy,” he pointed out.

“With the development, launch craft and vessels performing short voyages within local anchorages such as tugboats and bunker tankers may eventually be powered by battery technology.

“These vessels could require a floating charging station to receive energy for voyages depending on the energy density of the battery package.”

Ghose noted several current technical challenges facing the republic on its journey towards adopting electrification technology for decarbonisation.

Amongst them, similar to issues faced by the international cold ironing sector, are the standardisation of charging equipment and the frequency of the mains power system.

“But this will not be a problem within Singapore as the local administration will ensure requirements are met,” he believed.

“However, the main challenge will be battery related specifically for storage capacity, size, and safety.

“For example, tugboats use a lot of power for bollard pull and to get a battery unit with such high capacity will be a big challenge considering current technology limits.

“For bunker tankers, the batteries will either need to be placed in an intrinsically safe zone or be intrinsically safe themselves. Space requirements for such batteries will also be an issue.”

Moving forward, Ghose expects battery technology to continuously improve.

“Batteries are getting better constantly by being more power dense and compact. So hopefully by 2030 battery technology will be much more mature to handle these challenges,” he concluded.

Related: MPA blueprint prepares marine fuels sector for multi-fuel bunkering transition
Related: Singapore: MPA maritime decarbonisation blueprint sets target for bunkering sector

Photo credit: ERMA FIRST
Published: 1 April, 2024