The UK’s Falmouth Harbour is to pilot a new port battery and shore power infrastructure project to explore scalable, smart recharging systems for vessels.
The harbour is one of three UK ports piloting the UK Government-backed initiative aimed at integrating advanced battery technologies and energy management to overcome grid constraints and cost barriers.
The Port Infrastructure using Novel energy Storage (PINS) project is funded through the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) in the Department for Transport.
PINS aims to overcome any grid power and costs that have hampered previous port electrification projects by integrating intelligent energy storage and management systems within port operations.
Overcoming electric infrastructure blockages at ports and harbours is critical to meeting maritime decarbonisation goals.
Jonathan Willliams
The project is coordinated by MSE International and brings together nine partners from across industry and academia, combining experiences in maritime operations, energy storage technologies, and systems engineering.
Together the consortium will deliver front-end engineering design for scalable and commercially viable electrification solutions for a range of ports and harbours, designed to be attractive to ports and vessel operators without the need for subsidy.
“Overcoming electric infrastructure blockages at ports and harbours is critical to meeting maritime decarbonisation goals,” explained Dr Jonathan Willliams, CEO of MSE International.
Advances in battery technologies
“The PINS project was developed to address this challenge, exploiting rapid advances in battery technologies, and builds on MSE’s leadership of commercialisation planning for the Sea Change shore power project at Portsmouth.”
The project will assess present-day feasibility using lithium iron phosphate and re-used lithium-ion batteries, with future viability examined using sodium-ion and soluble lead flow batteries.
The project will also explore power transfer solutions from shore to vessel, including automated wireless charging and megawatt-scale connectors, optimised to serve a wide range of vessel types and sizes.
