Shipowner, bank and climate NGO back maritime battery builder's expansion

Corvus Energy, which builds energy-storage systems (ESS) for the maritime industry has secured a US$60M growth capital investment from a Morgan Stanley Investment Management-led consortium that includes Just Climate and Danish shipowner J. Lauritzen.

Corvus said the funding will enable the company to accelerate research, development and deployment of its products and to expand production capacity but said further details on the investment will be announced when the company’s current funding round is completed.

“We have invested heavily in product development to help shipowners and operators cut emissions and operating costs”, Corvus Energy Chief Financial Officer Mette Rokne Hanestad said. “This new capital gives us the firepower to accelerate expansion while maintaining our innovation lead, making our solutions both good for shipowners’ bottom line but also for a more sustainable planet.”

Corvus Energy operates across 15 locations, internationally, with manufacturing sites in Norway, Canada, and the United States. The company claims to have supplied more than half of the world’s zero-emission vessels, which are few in number, and says it has delivered more than 1,300 hybrid or all-electric ESS installations worldwide. 

"This represents 1,300 MWh of installed capacity and more than one million operating hours across different segments such as ferries, offshore vessels, tugs, RoPaxes and cruise ships – averting an estimated 11 million tonnes of CO2 to date," the company said.

Some of Corvus Energy’s highest-profile projects include the world’s largest fully-electric vessel and fast ferry, with 42 MWh of Dolphin Energy ESS, built by Incat for South-American operator Buquebus and set to be commissioned by year end.
Powering the world’s first fully-electric offshore vessel, an electric Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (eCSOV), with nearly 25 MWh of LFP-based energy storage, Blue Whale, the largest LFP battery system yet supplied to a maritime project.

“The maritime industry is entering a decisive decade for decarbonisation, with accelerating demand for clean energy shipping solutions which also deliver cost savings for our customers compared to fossil-based alternatives,” said Corvus Energy Chief Executive Officer Fredrik Witte. “We are excited to welcome this group of international investors as we strengthen our ability to meet surging global demand for zero-emission solutions. Their support, alongside our existing shareholders, affirms Corvus’s position as the market leader in maritime energy storage and provides the capital and strategic support we need to accelerate growth in key regions.”