VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Zephyrus Marine has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mirai Ships, a Japan-based shipyard located in Miyagi prefecture, to build the Zephyrus Zero Carbon Offshore wind service vessel.
Ad Hoc Marine Designs Ltd. will be providing the design for the zero-emission crew transfer vessel (CTV), which will incorporate Shift’s PwrSwäp technology. This class NK-approved energy storage system will allow CTVs to swap their modular battery systems with ease while providing a zero-emission service to the Japanese offshore wind sector.
The design of the Zephyrus Zero Carbon Offshore wind service operation will be tailored to specifically service Japanese wind and offshore vessels. The fully electric mothership will operate as the hotel and charging station with fully electric daughter vessels that will either be stowed on deck or returned to shore for near-shore operations. These daughter vessels will be lifted off the mothership and launched into the field. When the charge is low, these CTVs will return to the mothership to dock at the stern, allowing for the spent batteries ("e-pods”) to be lifted and replaced with fully charged ones within minutes.
The Zephyrus Zero Carbon Offshore wind service operation will utilize Shift’s PwrSwäp technology, which is a pay-as-you-go energy subscription service that delivers instant renewable, clean energy to vessels without risk, the companies said. As a result, vessels can utilize only the energy they need without committing to a fixed energy storage system.
The technology is rooted in a network of swappable battery e-pods and containers that are connected through cloud-based service and management centers. The company said PwrSwäp reduces emissions and costs as well as saves time. Unlike traditional refueling, which can take hours, it takes between three to 15 minutes to swap modular batteries. This addition will facilitate the transition of Japanese wind and offshore vessels to hybrid or fully electric.
04.05.2023
