Marine battery maker to power 9 Grimaldi vessels

Italy-based Grimaldi is having the vessels built as part of a fleet renewal programme, six of which will be deployed in the Mediterranean and three in the Baltic Sea.

They will have multi-fuel engines capable of running on methanol along with what AYK calls ‘a suite of green technologies’, such as a modern hull and propeller designm, shore power connectivity and waste heat recovery systems.

AYK will provide its OrionAN lithium iron phosphate (LFP) marine batteries, part of its latest range, which won DNV approval last year. 

“With high profile deals with major players in the maritime world like Grimaldi AYK continues to demonstrate how battery technology is evolving and becoming more powerful, more advanced and more competitive,” said AYK Energy founder Chris Kruger. “AYK’s battery solutions help shipping operators like Grimaldi improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and accelerate the transition toward more sustainable maritime transport.

“We all want to see fewer emissions and green shipping. But batteries will only be part of the decarbonization agenda if ship owners see the return on investment. There has to be a compelling business case, and that’s what the range of batteries that AYK can now offer is all about – the mass adoption of batteries that can pay for themselves within a matter of years.”

The growth of battery power in the ferry sector reflects a broader industry shift.

According to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform, 346 car and passenger ferries were operating on battery power as of mid-2024, with a further 98 on order – the largest concentration of battery adoption of any shipping segment. 

Interferry chief executive Mike Corrigan has pointed to route profile as the key driver: most ferry crossings run between 30 minutes and two hours and are well suited to current battery ranges.

Norway is the epicentre of the shift: data compiled by the EU’s Alternative Fuels Observatory shows the country operating around 70 battery-electric ferries, which is more than half its domestic fleet, following the 2015 début of Norled’s MF Ampere, the world’s first electric car ferry.

AYK Energy was founded in Andorra in 2018 by Chris Kruger, who previously developed the battery for the Prinsesse Benedikte, a major milestone in marine batteries because it began the era of large-scale marine hybridisation.

In 2024 and early 2025, AYK installed 12 MWh Orion+ batteries on Brittany Ferries’ hybrid LNG-electric vessels Saint-Malo and Guillaume de Normandie, which were four times larger than the system on the Prinsesse Benedikte.