Ecomar Propulsion and partners have secured £876k in funding from the Eureka Global Stars Award.
The funding will enable them to adapt their zero emission propulsion systems to the large sizes required for the global shipping industry. It is a joint collaborative project between Ecomar Propulsion, Singapore-based marine battery supplier Durapower, and The University of Exeter.
This funding marks a significant milestone in the consortium’s journey towards supporting international efforts to tackle climate change, eventually allowing larger vessels, tankers and freighters to steer free of emissions. As the world looks to address the impact of climate change through innovative green technologies, the need for eco-friendly propulsion systems in the maritime sector becomes crucial. Shipping emits approximately 940 million tonnes of exhaust gases, placing the maritime sector in sixth place of the world’s Greenhouse Gas emitting industries. To meet the IMO’s aim of reducing carbon emissions in shipping by 40%, Durapower Group will be supporting Ecomar Propulsion and The University of Exeter in the development of large battery systems to power green shipping.
Says Kelvin Lim, Chief Executive Officer, Durapower Group: “We’re delighted to be working hand-in-hand with both The University of Exeter and Ecomar Propulsion to help electrify the engineering company’s propulsion systems with our high-performance lithium-ion battery solutions for future commercial applications, particularly for vessels. We’ve been brought together as a result of the Eureka Globalstars-Singapore Call. The funding and support from Enterprise Singapore and Innovate UK will enable all parties to play a transformational role in the maritime sector, helping the industry eliminate or reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced by vessels of sizes.”
Anthony Bennett, Senior Executive Director, Ecomar Propulsion says: “Marine is one of the most polluting types of transport in the world and we want to help change that. Our powertrains are totally clean; we remove the diesel and petrol polluting engines from the vessels, and we install zero emissions alternatives powered by battery and hydrogen cells. This project concentrates mainly on the batteries.”
Ecomar Propulsion’s Managing Director, Eugene Bari adds: “We work exclusively with commercial marine organisations. Adding a 1MWh marine capability greatly enhances our profile and capabilities for commercial organisations. Shipping needs bigger systems which take huge investment and without this funding, we wouldn’t have been able to develop the one-megawatt-hour system with our partners in Singapore so quickly.”
Professor Chris Smith at The University of Exeter says: “The integration of clean power technology into maritime powertrains is challenging and fast changing. Issues concerning multiple fuel types, rapid changes in prices of key components such as batteries, fuel cells, and motors make systems integration together into vessels capable of carrying out their usual roles very challenging. Our AI-enabled simulation code, refined over several years, can design zero emissions powertrains to meet the task and with lowest possible costs.”
