First marine lithium sulphur batteries
A plan to exploit the benefits of using lithium sulphur batteries instead of the normal lithium ion batteries in a marine application is being developed by British company Oxis Energy.
This pioneering development centres around a project to build a 12 metre day-boat for the leisure sector but the company sees a significant application for this battery technology in the commercial and workboat sectors to exploit the potential of these efficient batteries. This marine application of lithium sulphur batteries comes from an agreement between Yachts de Luxe of Singapore and Oxis Energy, with the design being developed by Jean-Jacques Coste of Fraser Yachts
Oxis says it will work with YdL to design the new 12m. The design, manufacture and installation of the cell modules will be carried out by UK company Williams Advanced Engineering, a spin off from the Williams F1 motor racing team, which is a subcontractor on the project. The lithium sulphur battery will have a capacity of 400kWh which is projected to offer a range of 70 to 100 miles at the cruising speed in the region of 20 knots.
The lithium sulphur batteries do not use any toxic or rare earth material in its construction and at the end of its life the cells can be disposed of without damaging the environment. The batteries comprise a lithium anode combined with a sulphur based cathode using a safe electrolyte with state of the art separators. This is claimed to create a battery that is lightweight, safe, maintenance free and cost effective. Unlike lithium ion batteries these new batteries can be fully discharged thus offering more available power.
Huw Hampson-Jones, CEO at Oxis Energy, said, “The collaboration with YdL is an example of how entrepreneurial companies are able to utilize their expertise and move swiftly to deploy new state-of-the-art technology, which brings with it a paradigm shift in maritime transportation. The collaboration allows us to achieve this, and provides a level of safety to our seafaring clients, far beyond existing lithium-ion battery systems.”
Jean-Jacques Coste commented, “The highly promising Li-S technology developed by Oxis Energy is the perfect match between high power, safety and eco friendliness. This is the starting point of numerous projects including service boats.”
By Dag Pike
