MARITIME BATTERY LIFE PROJECT
Maritime Battery Life is about enhancing the operational life of batteries in electric ferries. This is achieved by advanced cycling and aging tests on battery packs coming from the prototype E-ferry Ellen.
The EU funded Ellen has battery cells originating back from 2018. Ellen has held the world record for travelling distance of pure electric ferries for many years. Her batteries have seen heavy duty cycling from morning to evening.
The Battery Life project will find ways to upcycle best cells as spares for the ferry operator and prepare the medium cells locally for second-life applications and reuse in onshore containers, e.g. balancing the grid at ferry operators' charging stations.
Phase One (feasibility study battery management)
Work Package 1
Battery cycling tests of used cells under laboratory conditions will provide feasibility study for improved Joint State estimations. Better State of Health under-standing will improve safety margins.
Phase One (feasibility study battery refurbishment)
Work Package 2
Feasibility study to develop local facilities and competences for battery cell analysis, module refurbishment and second-life approval procedures.
Phase Two (Facilities and scalability)
Work Package 3
Installation of refurbished battery modules in onshore prototype Energy Storage System. Certification procedures and test of auxiliary services to grid in cooperation with partners and new local energy community on Ærø.
Phase Two (Dissemination)
Work Package 4
Best practice principles adaption for battery ferry operators. Education of crew and maintenance personnel.
Battery ferries on the rise
More than a dozen new battery ferries are being designed right now, just to serve local neighboring routes in Southern Denmark.
Within a decade a vast amount of used batteries could become a sustainability issue if not dealt with in a timely manner.
Enhancing the operational lifetime of the battery cells, and doing it locally, will better compensate the environmental impact from cell production and mining of raw materials..
If successful, the Battery Life project will repay early adopters for some of the challenges they have faced, pioneering the way of using batteries at sea, by improving economic lifetime of their procured battery cells.
At the same time future battery ferries will benefit from the knowledge gained from these early adopters – like the Ellen ferry
Impact on battery cycle life
DTI and SDU
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By testing and modelling SDU and DTI will provide improved joint state estimations and SOH for enhancing battery life onboard the E-ferry.
Battery cells will not age evenly inside battery modules. Small initial differences will grow, especially in tough applications like ferry operation. When differences after many years can no longer be balanced out in operation, then battery modules need to be refurbished.
Feasibility of a "second-life" in shorebased application
Ærøfærgerne, Marstal Navigationsskole and Ærø Borgerenergifællesskab
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Battery cells from different modules can be redistributed to obtain a better match in refurbished modules and best modules will go back into the ferry. Others will have a second- life elsewhere in shore-based applications.
In this case study shore-based battery system will be tested providing auxiliary service to local grid balancing and boosting ferry charging.
Project Plan and status
Battery Life phase one has been fully funded and Work Pakages 1 and 2 are progressing as planned.
Battery Life phase two and Work Packages 3 and 4 have been partly initiated according to project plan.
Invasive module test and capacity test of cells are being performed right now by the SDU.
DTI is developing improved tools and procedures for calibration and SOH estimations.
A number of battery modules have been disassembled by Søby Skibselektro and Ærøfærgerne based on results coming from SDU investigations.
Dissemination of initial results of battery and cell testing at SDU will be published soon in scientific article.
Test facility on Ærø is also progressing according to plan with Marstal Navigationsskole, Ærøfærgerne and Ærø Borgerenergifællesskab as the drivers.
Battery Life Project partners phase one
In-kind associated partners for phase one
