German Company Develops Safer Green Marine Battery

As the push for green emissions-free energy sources continues, attention has been focused on the development of batteries that can efficiently store and provide energy.

In Germany, a company called EAS Batteries recently announced a new product it calls EASy Marine, a unique mechanical modular battery system with a safer cell chemistry than conventional lithium-ion batteries. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) makes it one of the most robust, sustainable and safe systems on the market, the company said. EASy Marine can be installed self-supporting in various room sizes and shapes. Optimized for hybrid marine propulsion, EASy Marine holds all the necessary approvals on the water through DNV-GL and IEC (62619 and 62620) certifications.

Reliability, safety, power performance and flexibility were the top priorities in the development of EASy Marine.

EASy Marine adapts flexibly to limited space conditions, increases safety on the water and reduces emissions. EASy Marine thus solves three problems of both inland and deep-sea shipping worldwide.

Michael Deutmeyer,  managing  director  of  EAS  Batteries  GmbH,  held a “christening” of the mechanical modular battery concept for the maritime industry on the occasion of its completed DNV-GL certification in the virtual presence of the Monbat Group Management at the production site in Nordhausen, Germany, and released it for serial production.

The modular space concept of the battery system enables almost every ship owner to convert his or her propulsion system to a fuel-optimized hybrid system, the company said.  This is because the battery design can be adapted to almost any type of ship architecture. “This is like Lego for adults,” said EAS Head of Sales Frank Diehl. The modules can be flexibly combined. “Rigid battery racks, some more than two meters high, are now a thing of the past,” Diehl said. “With the EASy Marine-modules, it is possible to reproduce steps, so that even sloping walls no longer present a space problem.”

Up to 1,500 volts can be connected in series, 50 percent more than usual. The cell chemistry of EASy Marine modules is based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP). LFP is considered extremely safe: while the battery can become hot in the event of a short circuit, overcharging or mechanical damage to the cell, it does not burn. “Burning lithium-ion batteries cannot be extinguished,” said Diehl, “only cooled. EASy Marine rules out such a drama on the open sea from the outset.”

“EASy Marine is robust and extremely powerful,” Deutmeyer said. “It is particularly suitable for hybrid applications, since it can release and absorb energy very quickly. The goal of hybrid systems, which combine batteries with diesel generators, for example, is  to  keep  fuel  consumption  in  the  so-called “sweet  spot”—therefore at the optimum level—throughout. The result is the minimum use of fuel and thus the lowest possible emission of CO2 and other emissions.