COSCO launches its first electric-powered container ship

Chinese shipping company COSCO Shipping Lines has launched its first fully electric inland container ship at a facility in Yangzhou.

PHOTO: Battery-powered 700-TEU capacity container ship. COSCO

The 700 TEU capacity container ship, which is referred to as N997, is powered by 36 portable, container-sized battery units. The batteries can be swapped on a voyage and recharged at stations along the way, COSCO says. It did not specify the kilowatt (kW) capacity of each battery.

The ship is the first of two identical fully electric container vessels that COSCO plans to operate along the over 600-mile Yangtze River route in China, which is also one of the world’s busiest inland waterways. Decarbonization of this route is critical for China to achieve its ‘dual carbon’ goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching neutrality by 2060.

COSCO also started the construction of its second fully electric container, called N998 in May. The company claims it can reduce carbon emissions by about 32 mt per 24-hour voyage, compared to a conventional fuel-powered ship of the same size.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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