ICCT study shows shift towards electrification in Chinese inland cargo shipping
Electrification of inland cargo ships in China is gathering pace, even as financial and infrastructure headwinds continue to weigh on wider adoption, a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) showed.
IMAGE: Number, size, and range of electric cargo ships in China from 2022 to 2025. ICCT
Around 42 electric cargo vessels, including bulk carriers, container ships and multi-purpose cargo ships, were operating in China by the end of 2025, compared with just four in 2022, ICCT said.
The maximum deadweight tonnage (DWT) of these vessels has also increased from 3,000 mt in 2022, to 14,000 mt in 2025. The distance that vessels travel on a single charge has also increased - from 81-216 nautical miles (150-400 km) in 2022, to up to 270 nautical miles (500km) in 2025.
The study said that around 86% of electric cargo ships deployed in China were operating on inland waterways, with pilot projects covering major waterways like Yangtze River, the Pearl River, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
One such vessel, Huahang Xinneng No.1, uses a battery swapping technology that can reportedly save up to 1.8 million yuan ($250,000) in annual operating costs. Four more such vessels are expected to enter operation this year, encouraged by the economic and environmental benefits, ICCT said.
But ICCT warned that high battery capacity demands, and safety requirements of electric cargo ships require high capital investment, and any operational savings from these transitions can take a long time to realise.
Secondly, ICCT cited insufficient and fragmented charging and battery swapping infrastructure requirement as another headwind. This partly reflects weak and unstable freight demand, which keeps utilization of charging and battery-swapping stations low and discourages further investment, the study states.
Weak cross-provincial coordination also makes it harder to aggregate freight flows and align electric vessel deployment with charging infrastructure, especially on long-distance routes.
China’s 15th five-year plan (2026–2030) could accelerate electric inland shipping through stronger subsidies, tighter engine emission standards and coordinated zero-carbon shipping corridors, ICCT says.
Targeted support for charging infrastructure, local incentives and cross-provincial freight coordination could improve the economics of electric ships and help scale deployment, ICCT suggests.
By Nachiket Tekawade
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