AsiaShipyardsTech

Imabari signs up for the world’s first power transfer vessel

The 2020s are shaping up as the decade where Japanese shipbuilders innovate to survive, delivering a swathe of totally new tonnage.

The latest example of this innovation is the Power ARK, a prototype of which will be built by Imabari Shipbuilding by 2025 in partnership with the design’s Japanese creator, PowerX. The so called power transfer vessel features specially designed massive marine batteries which will take energy from offshore wind farms to deliver to more than 200,000 Japanese households in a single voyage.

“With the Power ARK project, PowerX aims to efficiently distribute renewable energy to regions with high demand, ultimately leading to the greater utilization of clean energy resources throughout the nation,” PowerX explained in a release.

Paolo Cerruti, co-founder and COO of Northvolt, Caesar Sengupta, ex-VP and general manager at Google, and Mark Tercek, former CEO of The Nature Conservancy and former partner at Goldman Sachs, are non-executive directors of PowerX.

Other world first ship types coming out of Japan include Kawasaki Heavy’s liquedfied hydrogen carrier, which is expected to start operating later this month.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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