2022/07/18 by Jessica Kersey, Natalie Popovich, Amol Phadke · 1 voice · 1 citation
Engineering · Environmental Science · #Advanced Battery Technologies Research #Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure #Maritime Transport Emissions and Efficiency
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41560-022-01065-y
openalex publication_date 2022/07/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Abstract International maritime shipping—powered by heavy fuel oil—is a major contributor to global CO 2 , SO 2, and NO x emissions. The direct electrification of maritime vessels has been underexplored as a low-emission option despite its considerable efficiency advantage over electrofuels. Past studies on ship electrification have relied on outdated assumptions on battery cost, energy density values and available on-board space. We show that at battery prices of US100 kWh −1 the electrification of intraregional trade routes of less than 1,500 km is economical, with minimal impact to ship carrying capacity. Including the environmental costs increases the economical range to 5,000 km. If batteries achieve a US50 kWh −1 price point, the economical range nearly doubles. We describe a pathway for the battery electrification of containerships within this decade that electrifies over 40% of global containership traffic, reduces CO 2 emissions by 14% for US-based vessels, and mitigates the health impacts of air pollution on coastal communities.