BATTERY CHEMISTRIES. The. great debate. 58 // October 2017 // Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International

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1 The great debate 58 // October 2017 // Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International

2 With myriad battery technologies currently available on the market, industry experts put forward the chemistry they think will emerge as the dominant solution for electric and hybrid marine applications in the next 10 years WORDS: FELICITY LANDON Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International // October 2017 // 59

3 tellurium Te Tomas ngnér Global product specialist energy storage, ABB Marine The extraordinary development in battery technology in terms of increased energy and power densities, reduced cost, and improved cycle and shelf lifetimes, has all been possible because of the lithium-ion family of batteries, and it is believed that they will continue to dominate the energy storage market, including marine, for at least the decade ahead. The graphite/nickel cobalt manganese chemistry dominates the market today and is foreseen as playing a major role in the future. New innovations such as the solid-state lithium-ion battery may emerge, but it remains to be seen how quickly they can be commercialized. Jam einsteinium Es [ 252 ] Anderson Director of vessels, Caledonian Maritime Assets We re likely to see the emergence of innovative fuel cell systems in ferry transportation, with high-powered batteries with increased cycle life. The charging and discharging performances for batteries will increase. Governments around the world are setting ambitious emissions reduction targets, which will drive the need for further innovation in fuel technology. The technology does exist, but there are challenges and considerations that need to be explored for use in a marine environment, including safety, weight, space and cost issues. We re a key partner in the Hyseas project to develop designs for a ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology, which is looking at all these issues. A zero-emissions ferry is the ultimate goal. beryllium Be njamin Gully Senior engineer, environment advisory, DNV GL Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) has become the clear market leader because it provides a great balance of safety, cost, energy density, power and lifetime. NCM is therefore likely to remain the key technology in maritime applications over the next few years. Over the past few years, NCM development, driven by the consumer electronics and automotive sectors, has emphasized energy density and low cost. But for shipping, high performance, greater safety and reduced degradation are the most important factors, which also makes lithium-titanate (LTO) batteries attractive. It will be interesting to see how the market develops and which option suppliers choose. Finally, in the next five years we could see solid-state electrolyte systems break through into the market. Other options, such as lithium-air, still have considerable barriers to overcome and are probably not likely to become commercially viable in the next 10 years. 60 // October 2017 // Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International

4 cobalt Co r Meedendorp erbium Er Magnus iksson CEO, Echandia Marine Ten years is too long a period to predict. Five years ago nobody talked about batteries in the maritime industry. In the next five years, there will be two dominating chemistries: NCM and LTO. NCM will be the high-volume product and lead development when it comes to energy density (weight) and price. LTO, on the other hand, will be the high-performance product used in applications with high requirements for charging time, charging cycles and safety. Managing partner, FiFi4Marine The ideal battery chemistry for all marine applications simply does not exist. Before a battery system can be selected, you need to know the application and demands of the system. But to be competitive, companies need to offer systems at the boundaries of technical capacities yet stay within available budgets. The selection of any battery system must be based on the cycle life, depth of discharge, dynamic factor, surrounding temperatures, weight versus performance, system voltages, short high charge or discharging in C-rates, the complexity of the connected systems, certification requirements, the control level of power and energy management and, as always, the available budget. In all cases, safety and control are crucial in all applications. The best performing lithium battery manufacturers have most safety issues under control and have invested enormously in building proven technologies. The question is, is this level of safety sufficient to guarantee nothing can go wrong? protactinium Pa olo Scialla Lead specialist electrotechnical systems, Lloyd s Register The most popular type of battery is based on lithium-ion chemistry, as its energy density, reliability, cost and performance is identified as the most appropriate for these applications. However, in the past few years, a number of incidents caused by thermal runaway have escalated concerns about safety and not just in the energy and maritime industries. From a safety perspective, a battery based on a chemistry make-up of lithium-ion polymer is considered less risky because of its polymer electrolyte composition instead of non-aqueous organic (flammable) solvent. We are seeing a drive for this type of battery technology being developed. Other battery technologies under development include lithium-air, magnesium-ion, sodium-ion and lithium-sulfur. The trigger for these new technology developments is centered on cost, longevity and energy density. Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International // October 2017 // 61

5 protactinium Pa ul Krueger Vice president of engineering, Valence Technology Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistries have already successfully scaled for electric and hybrid marine applications. NMC may be considered for those applications where space is limited and energy density is paramount, while LFP will be the chosen technology for larger energy storage systems. LFP already has a track record of two of the attributes the marine industry cares about most: safety and longevity. As the size of the battery system grows, so does the importance of safety. For over a decade, large format LFP battery systems have been deployed in a variety of industrial applications, proving their durability in systems from kWh. cobalt Co Director of marine, RINA Services Andrea gliolo Presently, some hybrid system designers appear to be mainly considering, among the lithium-ion batteries, three types: lithium titanate, lithium iron phosphate and nickel cobalt manganese. The first technology delivers high power and long life, but is expensive and has low specific energy (kwh/ton). The second has a competitive cost, but low power and moderate life. The third type has a competitive cost and high specific energy, but moderate power and life and is today used in some tens of installations for marine use. Excluding batteries optimized for fast discharge and those optimized for low power, we expect thaat the marine industry will focus on lithiumion due to its good cost per kilowatt hour, energy per ton and per volume, their good life, and low maintenance requirements. radium Ra 226 CEO, Visedo Kimmo uma It s always a hard to look into a crystal ball and predict the dominant technologies of the future, but we can estimate which market players are likely to succeed. In the next 10 years the market will need to consolidate and cost pressures will be massive. To survive you ll either need to rely on the strength of your own supply chain, or be able to adapt and capitalize on the huge volumes needed to supply the automotive sector. So it s not necessarily dependent on the chemistry or the technology, but rather the manufacturer with the best supply chain and approvals. The players that can use those large automotive volumes will enjoy the lowest cost for their batteries. And if their offerings fulfill the requirement for the marine segment, that will most likely lead to market dominance for marine applications. phosphorus P eter Rogers Director, power conversion, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions Today, lithium-ion is the most common battery technology in use and it will be steadily improved over the next few years. However, there is a lot of investment going into battery development, which will likely result in a good alternative technology emerging that mitigates some of the issues with lithium-ion and leads to an improvement in energy density, rate of charge and discharge, reduced weight and increased safety. The marine industry will benefit from technologies developed for the automotive and renewable industries. Technologies based on more readily available materials such as graphene, sodium-ion and aluminum will not only offer lower-cost alternatives to lithium-ion, but will also have a higher power density, be safer, and offer high charge and discharge rates. The industry is on the verge of a technological breakthrough that will transform the way we implement power systems in the marine industry. 62 // October 2017 // Electric & Hybrid Marine Technology International

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