Norwegian shipping firm orders two electric container ships

Norwegian shipping company Eitzen Group has ordered two fully electric container vessels and has secured financing for two additional ships. The company plans to deploy the vessels on trade routes across Northern Europe.

Zen eitzen group elektrische containerschiffe — Visualisierung: Zen

The Norwegian economic development agency Enova is granting Eitzen Avanti, a subsidiary of the Norwegian shipping company Eitzen Group, NOK 200 million (approximately €18.2 million). This funding will be used to procure two battery-electric container ships, which will be notable for their large battery capacity: each vessel will be equipped with a 100 MWh battery. This is expected to enable the ships to travel between 500 and 600 nautical miles (926 to 1,111 kilometres).

Although the range is not sufficient for intercontinental routes between Europe and Asia, it is suitable for many shipping corridors within Europe. According to Zen, another Eitzen Group subsidiary involved in the project, the vessels will be able to travel from Oslo to Rotterdam without intermediate charging. Each ship will have capacity for 990 standard containers and will be built by Zhejiang Dongpeng Shipbuilding & Repairing Co. in China.

Meanwhile, Eitzen’s subsidiary Zen is working to establish an entire ecosystem around battery-electric container ships. According to the company, electric propulsion systems, software, and autonomous technologies will enable a completely new shipping architecture, featuring fleets of standardised battery-electric vessels coordinated as an integrated network.

“We are not just building electric ships,” said Fridtjof C. Eitzen, Co-Founder and CEO of Zen. “We are creating the infrastructure that makes electromobility in shipping indispensable.” This includes infrastructure for ship batteries, charging networks along trade corridors, fleet operation software, energy management systems, remote control, and future autonomy.

These are not the first battery-electric container ships to receive funding from the Eitzen Group. A year ago, Enova awarded a NOK 200 million grant for two battery-electric container ships, which are apparently identical in design to the two additional vessels now being funded. According to Enova, the first of these ships is expected to enter service in 2029.

heise.de, linkedin.com (funding)