The objective of this project was to establish an innovative ship concept for a fully electric Ro-Pax ship, which makes use of new technology, especially in the area of electrical propulsion and energy storage. The project also included a risk assessment of the concept and identification of possible follow-up studies of critical design items. There is a growing demand for all types of shipping to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases and particles, and also NOx and SOx. Meeting IMO’s emissions objective by 2050 will require large efforts both for energy efficiency measures on existing ships and for new concepts for fossil-free ships. Electrical propulsion for small ships has been discussed for long and many installations are today operational. This project is an innovation project with participation from industrial partners contributing to the overall goal of sustainable shipping by proposing a ship concept for an electrically powered large Ro-Pax ship for shorter international voyage. The amount of electric energy estimated to be stored in batteries onboard is approximately 60 MWh. This is ten times more than the current largest marine battery installation. When it comes to fire safety, it is very important with a holistic approach, including integrity, ventilation, failure detection and fire suppression methods, etc., based on hazard identification. The battery fire safety concept developed in this project constitutes safety requirements guidelines for large ship battery installations and is one of the main results from the conducted risk analysis work. The idea of the presented concept is that it should be applicable for any electrically powered ship and that it could be used as starting point for discussions on IMO harmonized regulations for battery energy storage systems onboard ships. It can be concluded that a fully electric Ro-Pax ship operating on the route Gothenburg to Frederikshavn is a technically and commercially realistic alternative.

Syftet med detta projekt var att skapa ett innovativt fartygskoncept för ett helelektriskt Ro- Pax-fartyg, som använder sig av ny teknik, särskilt inom området elektrisk framdrivning och energilagring. Projektet inkluderade också en riskbedömning av konceptet och identifiering av möjliga uppföljningsstudier av kritiska designdelar. Kravet ökar på alla typer av sjöfart att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser och partiklar, samt även NOx och SOx. Att uppfylla IMO: s utsläppsmål 2050 kommer att kräva stora insatser avseende såväl energieffektivitetsåtgärder på befintliga fartyg som nya koncept för fossilfria fartyg. Elektrisk framdrivning för små fartyg har diskuterats länge och många installationer är idag i drift. Detta projekt är ett innovationsprojekt, med brett industriellt deltagande, som bidrar till det övergripande målet för hållbar sjöfart genom att föreslå ett fartygskoncept för ett eldrivet stort Ro-Pax-fartyg för kortare internationell resa. Mängden elektrisk energi som beräknas lagras i batterier ombord är cirka 60 MWh. Detta är tio gånger mer än den nuvarande största installationen av marina batterier. När det gäller brandsäkerhet är det mycket viktigt med ett holistiskt tillvägagångssätt, inklusive integritet, ventilation, feldetektering och brandbekämpningsmetoder etc. baserat på riskidentifiering. Konceptet med brandsäkerhet för batterier som utvecklats i detta projekt utgör riktlinjer för säkerhetskrav för stora fartygsbatteriinstallationer och är ett av huvudresultaten från det genomförda riskanalysarbetet. Tanken med det presenterade konceptet är att det ska vara tillämpligt för alla eldrivna fartyg och att det ska kunna användas som utgångspunkt för diskussioner om IMO-harmoniserade regler för batterilagringssystem ombord på fartyg. En viktig slutsats från projektet är att ett helelektriskt Ro-Pax-fartyg, som går på rutten Göteborg till Frederikshavn, är ett tekniskt och kommersiellt realistiskt alternativ.

The shipping industry is facing increasing pressure to cut emissions. Diesel-electric hybrid or fully electrical propulsion systems can offer significant savings in fuel consumption and reduce emissions. However, the use of energy storage battery systems on board vessels is introducing new fire hazards and advice on suitable fire extinguishing systems and agents is desired. In a series of tests, both total compartment application water spray and water mist systems and direct injection (using several different agents) into the module were evaluated in fire tests conducted to compare different fire extinguishing approaches for a fire in a battery cell. A test compartment was constructed to simulate a battery room and a commercially available lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cell was positioned inside a cubic box that mimicked a battery module. By heating the battery cell, combustible gases were generated, and these gases were ignited by a pilot flame inside the simulated battery module. The tests indicated that fire extinguishment of a battery cell fire inside a battery module is unlikely when using total compartment water spray or water mist fire protection systems. The water droplets are simply not able to penetrate the battery module and reach to the seat of the fire. Direct injection of the fire extinguishing agent inside the battery module is necessary. The tests also showed that agents such as water and low-expansion foam, with a high heat capacity, provide rapid cooling and fire extinguishment. The reduced water surface tension associated with low-expansion foam may improve the possibilities for water penetration whilst agents with a high viscosity may not be able to spread to the seat of the fire. Agents with less heat capacity, such as high-expansion foam and nitrogen gas, provide less cooling but fire extinguishment can still be achieved if designed correctly.

The shipping industry is facing increasing pressure to cut emissions. Diesel-electric hybrid or fully electrical propulsion systems can offer significant savings in fuel consumption and reduce emissions. However, the use of energy storage battery systems on board vessels is introducing new fire hazards and advice on suitable fire extinguishing systems and agents is desired. In a series of tests, both total compartment application water spray and water mist systems and direct injection (using several different agents) into the module were evaluated in fire tests conducted to compare different fire extinguishing approaches for a fire in a battery cell. A test compartment was constructed to simulate a battery room and a commercially available lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cell was positioned inside a cubic box that mimicked a battery module. By heating the battery cell, combustible gases were generated, and these gases were ignited by a pilot flame inside the simulated battery module. The tests indicated that fire extinguishment of a battery cell fire inside a battery module is unlikely when using total compartment water spray or water mist fire protection systems. The water droplets are simply not able to penetrate the battery module and reach to the seat of the fire. Direct injection of the fire extinguishing agent inside the battery module is necessary. The tests also showed that agents such as water and low-expansion foam, with a high heat capacity, provide rapid cooling and fire extinguishment. The reduced water surface tension associated with low-expansion foam may improve the possibilities for water penetration whilst agents with a high viscosity may not be able to spread to the seat of the fire. Agents with less heat capacity, such as high-expansion foam and nitrogen gas, provide less cooling but fire extinguishment can still be achieved if designed correctly.