Eco Marine Power, Masterbulk Install UltraBattery Onboard Ship

Japanese technology company Eco Marine Power (EMP) has joined forces with Singapore shipping company Masterbulk for the world-first Installation of class-approved UltraBattery (UB) onboard ship.

A joint press release announced that the UB battery pack manufactured by the Furukawa Battery Company (Furukawa Battery) has been installed on the large general cargo ship – MV Panamana.

This battery pack will later form part of an Aquarius Marine Solar Power solution developed by EMP and be evaluated jointly with Masterbulk and ZEABORN Ship Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

The battery pack installed on the ship incorporates class-approved UB-50-12 Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries along with an easy to install marine-grade battery frame kit. This combination allowed for the batteries and frame kit to be loaded onto the ship and installed by the ship’s technical team with only remote support being required.

The frame kit for the batteries was manufactured by Teramoto Iron Works and specially design to be used with the UB-50-12 batteries.

UB-50-12 VRLA batteries are the ideal solution for smart grid, wind power and solar power applications and are safe, recyclable and have a long cycle life. These hybrid batteries incorporate unique ultracapacitor technology and along with the larger capacity UB-1000, are suitable for use on ships, offshore platforms and land-based applications.

Commenting on this latest development, Yasuhiro Kodaka, General Manager of International Sales at Furukawa Battery said, “We are very pleased to see our high quality UltraBattery series being used on ships. These long-life and very reliable batteries offer a cost effective alternative to lithium-ion type batteries and are also relatively easier to install and maintain”.

Lars Modin, Chief Executive Officer at Masterbulk stated, “At the core of Masterbulk’s corporate sustainability policy is a focus on protecting the planet and exploring the use of renewable energy on our ships, as part of our strategy to further reduce emissions and fuel consumption.”