Swedish firm wins deal to supply marine batteries

The batteries are LTO (Lithium Titanate Oxide) batteries, which, Echandia says, are known for their ‘superior safety, fast charging and long cycle life’. 

Three 150-passenger ferries will be introduced to the waterfront neighbourhoods in San Francisco, along with two 400-passenger ferries to serve ferry routes in Oakland and Alameda.

All vessels will be battery-electric and the battery systems are scheduled for deliuvery in the first half of 2025.

Echandia has already announced the opening of a facility in Marysville, WA, wqhere the batteries will be made, thus complying with America’s ‘Buy-America’ provisions, where a certain percentage of a product’s components must be made in the States.

Echandia is also working on designs for a charging float at the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal, which would have battery banks to enable toe ferries to charge rapidly.

“This is a milestone achievement for our expansion into the North American market,” said Fredrik Hellström, CEO of Echandia. “This is so far probably the most prestigious maritime electrification project in the world to be a part of, and I think many others will look at this project as a benchmark moving forward. This really is a testament to the quality and safety of our battery systems.”