You need fuel? Call an electric bunker tanker.

The Japanese all-electric “e5 tanker” project, announced last year, moves forward, as the consortium has selected battery system supplier.

The 3.5 MWh battery pack (3,480 kWh to be precise) will be produced by Corvus Energy, the company already engaged in tons of vessel electrification projects.

The e5 Lab consortium intends to build two battery-electric bunker tankers, which are an auxiliary type of vessels (not the large ocean tankers).

The first one is expected to enter service in bunkering operations in Tokyo Bay by 2022.

“The highly publicized battery-powered vessel was designed by e5 Lab Inc., a consortium of leading Japanese shipping and maritime services companies, including Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd., set up to build infrastructure services focused on electrically powered vessels. The vessel for Asahi Tanker is the first of two all-electric vessels to be built from the e5 Lab initiative and is expected to go into service in bunkering operations in Tokyo Bay by 2022. The ships will be built by KOA Industry Co., Ltd. and Imura Shipyard Co., Ltd. in Japan.”

Potentially it might be a significant market for electrification, as Asahi Tanker Co. alone operates 137 units and they are usually used over a short range.

Ohno Tatsuya of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which selected Corvus Orca energy storage system for the project, said:

“Corvus Energy has battery and marine market expertise unlike any other. They have been an outstanding partner in other projects, and we are excited to work with Corvus again on this ground-breaking project.”

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