Japanese yard inks MoU for UK zero carbon wind service design

The zero-emission Crew Transfer Vessel concept incorporates a modular battery system, permitting batteries to be swapped using modular architecture from Canadian battery supplier Shift. The energy storage system has been approved by ClassNK, and has been tailored to the requirements of Japanese wind and offshore vessels.

The fully electric Mothership will operate as the hotel and charging station with fully electric daughter vessels that will either be stowed on  deck or returned to shore for near-shore operations. These daughter vessels will be lifted off the Mothership and launched into the field. When the charge is low, these CTVs will return to the Mothership to dock at the stern, allowing for the spent batteries (“e-pods”) to be lifted and replaced with fully charged ones within minutes.

The Motorship previously covered the power-as-a-service concept in a feature in January 2023.

Rob Stewart, Director at Zephyrus said, “We need to make it easy for shipowners and the offshore wind sector to go zero carbon. By partnering with Mirai Ships in building our unique solution, we can move the needle towards a net-zero shipping industry and we can do so while improving the operational cost and reducing the risk profiles within the offshore Japanese wind sector.” 

Takeyoshi Kidoura, CEO of Mirai Ships, mentioned: “It is a great honor to become a part of this team of people who are trying to make the planet a better place to live. It is a challenge and requires dedication, passion, and, most of all, teamwork.”

Paul Hughes, President and founder of Shift, said: “When it comes to decarbonization, it needs to be a collaborative effort. We are thrilled to partner with Zephyrus and Mirai Ships to power these zero-emission wind service vessels. Utilizing our PwrSwäp technology, we give shipowners the power and freedom to utilize clean, reliable energy without having to purchase the energy storage system. Our energy storage systems provide the energy needed for the trip saving space, weight and costs. This is an important step towards lowering shipping emissions in Japan and beyond.”

The Zephyrus Zero Carbon Offshore wind service operation will utilize Shift’s PwrSwäp technology – a pay-as-you-go energy subscription service. The technology is rooted in a network of swappable battery e-Pods and containers which are connected through cloud-based service and management centres. Not only does PwrSwäp reduce emissions and costs, it saves time. Unlike traditional refuelling which can take hours, it takes between 3-15 minutes to swap modular batteries. This addition will facilitate the transition of Japanese wind and offshore vessels to hybrid or fully electric.

This project and partnership between Zephyrus Marin, Shift, Mirai Ships, and Ad Hoc, marks an important step towards the decarbonisation of the shipping industry in Japan and beyond. Zephyrus is rapidly accelerating the electrification solutions for offshore wind.