Norwegian company Yara Marine Technologies has agreed to give financial and other support to Phinergy Marine, a company that has developed container housed aluminium air battery systems.
“Phoenician Energy’s use of aluminium-air battery technology for the maritime industry triggered our scientists’ curiosity. Their container battery is especially interesting. The concept taps into several recent trends and developments, such as circular economy and electrification of marine vessels. We believe this technology may have an important role to play in a greener maritime industry for future generations,” said Thomas Koniordos, CEO of Yara Marine Technologies.
Phinergy licenses aluminium -air battery technology and adapts it to marine applications. The company has developed a 4.8MWh system enclosed in a 6m shipping container. The aluminium air battery actually consumes aluminium with alumina as a by product of the production of electricity from the battery. The container based concept developed by Phinergy would see the battery container being exchanged in port for a new one rather than being recharged on board.
Jesper Hellström, Yara Marine’s head of research and development, highlighted, “Charging an Al-air battery actually happens at an aluminium production plant. You may say that the battery consumes aluminium, the most abundant metal in Earth’s crust. Furthermore, the alumina generated from the aluminium in the battery, as it depletes, is a valued commodity. The alumina can be recycled back to aluminium at the aluminium plant, but it also has uses in other industries. Together with Yara Marine Technologies, Phinergy will move into its next phase.”
“Al-air batteries have one of the highest energy densities of all batteries, with more than four times the capacity of the conventional lithium-ion battery,” said Udi Erell, founder and president at Phinergy. “Higher density means that longer ranges can be achieved, and a smaller footprint means more space for revenue-producing cargo. Aluminium-air batteries do not lose capacity when not in use, nor do they degrade over time. They are also inherently safe, with no danger of temperature runaway.”
The container system is claimed to eliminate downtime that would be required for recharging conventional batteries. The consumed battery is then re-equipped with new aluminium and it is ready to go another turn.
By Dag Pike
