Seaspan to field test clean-tech firm's denser batteries

Richmond company's Blue Whale system to be fitted aboard cargo ferry for sea trials

Capt. Ahab had his white whale, B.C. its Blue Whale.

It's a big battery and is so-named because of its massive energy storage capacity, said Sean Puchalski, executive vice-president of Richmond-based Corvus Energy, the clean-tech firm that developed it.

Corvus, along with Seaspan, the University of B.C., B.C. Hydro and Vard Marine (a Norwegian shipbuilder) have partnered to field test Blue Whale, described as a novel energy system. The large lithium-ion battery will be installed aboard the cargo ferry Seaspan Reliant and monitored by an intelligent cloud-based system in a $4.15-million study.

“It will be deployed with massive energy storage capacity so that large vessels like cruise ships, ferries and cargo vessels can operate on battery power alone to meet increasingly strict emission regulations,” Puchalski said. “Blue Whale will have the industry's highest energy density, which minimizes the payload displaced by the battery. There's been a lot of interest from shipowners around the globe.”

Blue Whale is up to 50 per cent more energy-dense than other current lithium-ion battery systems, Puchalski said, adding it will reduce engine noise and vibration, benefiting marine wildlife, crews and passengers. The company went with lithium ion over other options, such as sodium ion, because it's a much more mature technology, Puchalski said.

“It can get the mission done technically and it's at the right price. Some of the new technologies are just too expensive for deployment on this scale.”

The increased-density design has a system in place to prevent the thermal runaway that has plagued lithium-ion batteries and sometimes caused fires.

The Reliant is smaller than the vessels Corvus hopes wind up using its batteries, and installing one below deck on the cargo ferry presents all sorts of challenges, Puchalski said.

The trial battery will provide almost two megawatt-hours of electricity, equal to about 30 Tesla Model 3s, Puchalski said. Corvus has expanded its Richmond plant to manufacture Blue Whale batteries.

Seaspan introduced two hybrid vessels to its fleet of cargo ferries in 2017, and they emit substantially less greenhouse gases compared with traditional vessels, Ahmed Khan, project manager for Seaspan Ferries, said.

“The batteries also provide opportunities for operational savings, instantaneous powering for load-levelling and blackout prevention,” he said. “The Blue Whale batteries will help us take our emissions reductions even further.”

The batteries are charged with clean energy from the grid at the company's Duke Point terminal, Khan said.

B.C. Hydro will study how charging Blue Whale will affect the local grid, with plans to eventually expand the program to inland and coastal fleets.

“We hope our efforts and what we learn will benefit the greater maritime community,” Khan said.

Canada's Ocean Supercluster, a group that promotes the ocean economy, provided $2 million in funding for the field trial.