Under a deal with Siemens, Swedish energy systems supplier Echandia will supply battery systems for the world’s largest fleet of electric ferries under construction in India
Echandia will supply E-LTO battery systems for 23 electric ferries being built at Cochin Shipyard for Kochi’s public transport. India’s first water metro service will comprise of 78 zero-emissions vessels, which is the world’s largest fleet of electric ferries. The initial 23 ferries will connect the city and its 10 islands via 38 different terminals. The 24-m ferries will be fast-charged at regular intervals to ensure a reliable service.
Echandia manufactures proprietary energy systems for high-power, zero-emissions transport, including ferries, trains, and windfarms at its facilities in Stockholm.
In June 2020, Siemens won the tender to supply the electric propulsion systems to the Kochi water metro project. During the first phase of the project, Cochin Shipyard will deliver 23 100-passenger ferries.
“This will support the country’s efforts to reduce its emissions and carbon footprint, changing the lives of the 100,000 people living in the Kochi area,” said Echandia chief executive and founder Magnus Eriksson.
“We decided early on to use LTO batteries because of their safety profile, their charging capacity and their expected lifespan in relation to their cost,” said Kochi Metro Rail Limited general manager (marine) Sajan P John.
In a statement, Echandia said “LTO is the safest maritime battery chemistry – resilient to external heat and other abuse, preventing thermal runaways. It does not form dendrite like other lithium-ion chemistries, avoiding short circuits and increasing battery safety over time.”
The company claims E-LTO requires “no active measures for water cooling or fire suppression. Propagation of thermal runaway between the Toshiba cells is almost impossible. E-LTO-batteries are completely air-cooled, which is an easy, safe, and robust system. There have been several recent incidents with water-cooled batteries – a situation totally avoided using Echandia Marine’s E-LTO systems.”
Riviera will provide free technical and operational webinars in 2021. Sign up to attend on our events page.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.