AIDA Cruises goes electric

Following the introduction of low-emission LNG operations in cruise shipping, AIDA Cruises is now turning to the use of electrical energy from battery storage systems on board large cruise ships. ABB and Siemens are also partners on this latest project.

Michael Thamm, group chief executive of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, said the company’s goal was emissions-neutral ship operation. ”The electrification of our ships is another important milestone on this path,” he said. “Thanks to the cooperation with Corvus Energy, already in a few months, AIDA Cruises is going to launch this innovative technology on a large cruise ship.”

The use of a battery system on an AIDA ship is another important step in the implementation of the company’s ‘Green Cruising Strategy’. In 2018, AIDA Cruises launched AIDAnova, the world’s first cruise ship operating entirely on low-emission LNG and more recently, the company was awarded the Blue Angel, the German Federal Government’s ecolabel for AIDAnova’s environmentally friendly ship design. By 2023, two more AIDA LNG vessels will be put into service.

Other green initiatives are in train. By the end of 2020, 12 of 14 AIDA cruise ships will be able to receive shore power where available and since 2017, AIDAsol has been using the shore power plant in Hamburg-Altona in regular operations.

AIDA is also exploring the possibilities of CO2-free production of liquefied gas from renewable sources through its ‘Power to Gas’ project together with the use of fuel cells in cruise shipping.