First Aid for a Sustainable Ship - Full Electric Tugboat
Case study on making a tugboat full electric, including costs and considerations
This is a case study on how to decarbonize a tug by making it full electric. It is an homage to Damen’s electric tug ‘Sparky’. In practice, fully electrifying a vessel means to install a - very large - battery pack, in this case at least 3 MWh. This would also be the largest cost component, outweighing switchboard modifications, inverter and other electrical equipment. Cost reductions in OPEX/dayrate are high, between 50% to 90% in extreme cases. The biggest advantage of a fully electrified tug is compliance with virtually all known existing and upcoming rules and regulations, in particular those of local authorities. Full electrification is recommended for diesel-electric ships only.
Case study is ‘Sparky McSparkspark’, a tugboat with approx. 3 MW installed power.
The tug is fully electrified and able to operate for 1 day before needing charging.
CAPEX is in the order of 3-6 MEUR and payback rate is in the order of 5-10 years.
Incentives such as HBEs in the Netherlands, or EU ETS (should they apply) will greatly enhance the business case.
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Ship type considerations - Tugboat or Port / Coastal
Small tugs can be technically challenging for conversion to full electric (or hybrid) due to space limitations, but medium to large-sized tugs are (very) well suited for electrification from a technical standpoint.
From an operational and economic standpoint, the business case and time of operation are challenging to reconcile. In particular the operation time for electric tugs compared to conventional tugs is vastly inferior and implies a change in behaviour for your crew and company.
Portal and coastal tugboats are generally too small for IMO regulations, i.e. CII and EEXI, but are faced with potentially even stricter rules from ports, local authorities and clients striving for zero emissions well in advance of 2050. The biggest advantage of full electrification is the fact that you are compliant with all known existing and upcoming rules and regulations regarding maritime sustainability.
Most tugs have have a fixed mooring location, which lends itself perfectly for electrification.
Technology considerations - Tugboat or Port / Coastal
Full electrification is recommended for diesel-electric tugs only, not direct drive vessels.
Batteries operate on DC, therefore it is recommended to operate all electrical equipment and propulsion on DC as well to save on inverter costs and losses.
Although this may sound contrary to our beliefs at Sustainable Ships, retrofitting your vessel to full electric is ill-advised. The business case for batteries lends itself better for newbuilt, retrofitting is in most cases too expensive.
Due to the high CAPEX cost of marine battery systems (€500 per kWh) a lease is advised to reduce CAPEX costs and risk of battery degradation in the extreme long-term (10 years plus).
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