China Has Launched the World's First All-Electric Cargo Ship (futurism.com)

slash.jit writes: China has launched the world's first all-electric cargo ship. It can travel 80 kilometers (approximately 50 miles) after being charged for 2 hours. As noted by Clean Technica, 2 hours is roughly the amount of time it would take to unload the ship's cargo while docked. Oh...and Ironically, the world's first all-electric cargo ship is being used to move coal.
China Daily reports that the 230 foot long vessel is equipped with a 2,400 kWh lithium-ion battery, a cheaper and cleaner power supply. And Clean Technica notes that that battery is comprised of 1,000 individual lithium-ion packs, while "Adding enough power to carry more cargo is simply a matter of adding more battery packs."

Comments

next we'll have

[Anonymous Coward]

Wind powered ships with sails and shit

Re:... it's still just 1.1%

[Rei]

ALL solar systems are very much affected by particulate matter in the air. fact most of them require large amount of water to constantly clean the fucking things.

Re-read and try again.

Good reasons to test with a coal bulker...

[BigBlockMopar]

Oh...and Ironically, the world's first all-electric cargo ship is being used to move coal.

Like an op-ed written by a self-righteous ninth grader.

I understand the poster's frustration, but there are lots of great reasons to use coal as a load for the first test of a rechargeable ship. (I refuse to call it an electric ship, there have been diesel-electric propulsion systems on ships, as railway locomotives, for decades.)

1. The route is well-traveled and familiar between the coal dock and the power plant or steel mill, it's as familiar to local mariners as your drive to work is to you.
2. The freight is easy to load and unload
3. The freight isn't particularly valuable
4. The freight isn't particularly irreplaceable
5. The freight isn't particularly hazardous, coal dust explosions during loading and unloading aside
6. They'll rack up miles and load/unload (charge/discharge the battery!) cycles quickly

You don't test your new server in production on your client's most important website, right?

If the rechargeable ship works out - no battery fires, especially! - then it might start to be used to carry heavier or more valuable cargo, like iron ore, then maybe even refitted for something else.

And if the technology works out, the rechargeable ship would be *amazing* for a short-hop ferry service, especially in an urban area where air pollution is a problem.

Ya gotta be able to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. This is at the crawling stage. But it's encouraging.

Re:Good reasons to test with a coal bulker...

[glenebob]

there are lots of great reasons to use coal as a load for the first test of a rechargeable ship. (I refuse to call it an electric ship, there have been diesel-electric propulsion systems on ships, as railway locomotives, for decades.)

You'll call a diesel-electric ship what it is, but not an electric ship? That seems silly. And they're both rechargeable, just with different forms of energy.