New battery technology holds promise for workboats

A new advanced lithium-ion battery technology released by Richmond, British Columbia based Corvus Energy, enables a 3,000 hp harbour tug in hybrid form to save 122,000 gallons of fuel and will reduce its emissions by 900 tons of carbon, 21 tons of nitrogen oxide and 8.62 tons of particulate matter each year.

The technology is able to store and distribute energy in megawatt sizes and has the capacity to output sustained power comparable to diesel engines in hybrid and full-electric vessels and vehicles.

Tugboats can draw extra energy from the battery packs during full power surges, fully rely on the pack during idle periods and power critical navigational instruments for hours. The packs claim to be the most efficient in the industry and recharge in 30 minutes. It’s a maintenance free technology that comes with a lifetime warranty

Current hybrid designs in the marine industry, being installed with Corvus batteries, will cut CO2 emissions and fuel consumption in heavy polluting workboats by 75%.

Corvus’ proprietary lithium-ion battery packs have four times the power and energy storage of lead-acid batteries in half the volume and a quarter of the weight. Each battery pack delivers at least 22% more power and energy density than the most powerful Lithium-ion phosphate batteries used in electric vehicles and consumer products.

The battery design is built around a new nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) based Dow Kokam cell and patent pending Corvus battery management system that exponentially enhances battery efficiency and performance with energy storage capacity from 6.2kWh to unlimited sizes.

‘We’ve made the theoretical possible, said Brent Perry, Corvus’ chief executive officer. ‘This is the first time that truly effective portable and remote energy storage has been created for the marine, transportation and heavy power industries. Our battery’s cells are 99% efficient, a full 10 to 30% better than any other brand. It’s available today and it’s revolutionizing the energy sector.’

Company founders George Roddan, a naval architect, and Neil Simmonds, who holds more than 70 patents in battery management systems, joined forces with Perry in 2009 to create a battery pack that could provide diesel engine scale power.

Corvus invested more than $5m to create a safe, modular battery pack tough enough to withstand the world’s harshest ocean and port environments, as well as fully function between -4 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Each pack is claimed to have an average life of twenty years, compared to seven years for lead-acid batteries.

‘Corvus is enabling engineers, who design wind farms and grid systems to cruise ships and tug boats, to rethink how they can store energy and use power, said Perry. ‘It changes the entire landscape. Energy can be stored in regions that previously didn’t have consistent power and ports can clean up their act with workboats and equipment that no longer require diesel engines.’