Corvus Energy has reached an agreement with Seaspan Ferries Corporation for the first delivery of Corvus’ Blue Whale ESS, to be installed onboard one of their cargo ferries. Blue Whale is a new large-scale energy storage system (ESS)—a groundbreaking battery system designed for large ships with high zero-emission energy demand, such as cruise ships, large Ro-Pax and Ro-Ro ferries, and cargo ships. Its unique rack-free design of stacking modular blocks provides the industry’s highest volumetric battery room energy density and, consequently, maximizes a ship owner’s passenger or payload opportunities. With three and a half times the previous energy capacity, Seaspan will be able to expand the use of battery power beyond spinning reserve to also provide fuel-efficient peak shaving, load balancing, and even zero-emission operation on battery power only.
For its inaugural field trial, the Blue Whale battery system will be installed on board Seaspan Reliant, a roll-on/roll-off drop-trailer cargo ferry built in 2016 with service between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. VARD Marine, BC Hydro and the University of British Columbia will provide integration design, shore charging from the grid infrastructure, and emissions reduction studies respectively. The Blue Whale field trial and all key maritime authority certifications are expected to be completed by Spring 2022, at which time commercial deliveries will commence.
