The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received 55 bids from 32 local and foreign businesses and consortia in response to an expression of interest (EOI), which was issued on July 10, 2023, seeking proposals on designs and to encourage the adoption of full electric harbour craft (e-HC) in Singapore. The results show that both local and international players in the development of e-HC in Singapore have a great deal of confidence and great interest in it.
The application of an optimised aluminium hull form, high energy density batteries with active liquid cooling, and a battery thermal detection and protection system were among the technically viable e-HC concepts that the participants had submitted. In their proposals, they also mentioned that the total cost of ownership for an e-HC can be equivalent to that of a traditional harbour craft. Even though e-HC now has higher upfront capital costs, mostly because of the greater cost of the batteries and related systems, these can be offset by operating the more energy-efficient e-HC, which saves on energy, as well as by lowering maintenance costs and downtime.
Many participants have put up business plans that would minimise the total cost of ownership for individual businesses while optimising the harbour craft resource at the sector level. By providing strong business arguments based on aggregation, these ideas hope to persuade more businesses—especially those with smaller fleet sizes—to switch to e-HC. They also want to provide an effective and adaptable sector-level capability to accommodate the requirements of ships stopping in Singapore.
The 11 proposals were chosen for enhanced cost reduction, design improvements and demand aggregation.
After the evaluation panel finished analysing all of the submissions, the MPA shortlisted 11 designs for passenger launch and cargo lighter vessels that were submitted by seven different companies and consortiums. The MPA will support an enhancement programme for our researchers in the maritime domain to improve vessel designs, safety and cybersecurity, and lower energy requirements in collaboration with several research institutes (RI) including the Institute of High-Performance Computing, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Tropical Marine Science Institute, and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) including Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute of Technology, and Singapore University of Technology and Design. When these designs are scaled up, this will assist in lowering their overall costs and promote ongoing advancements. The participants can gradually market these improved e-HC reference designs to interested parties once the designs and prototypes are complete, ultimately collecting industry manufacturing demand. Employing ready-to-use reference designs and producing large quantities are anticipated to save costs for businesses preparing to switch to e-HCs.
Six of the 11 e-HC designs, including those from the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, China Classification Society, DNV, and RINA, have received the necessary technical certifications and will work to gather industry demand for their designs. The six concepts that Pyxis Maritime Pte Ltd, marinEV, and the Coastal Sustainability Alliance submitted show a strong awareness of Singapore’s objectives concerning training needs, digital and cyber systems, battery requirements, and the growth of local expertise. Depending on their current maturity and readiness, these participants will collaborate closely with MPA and its researchers over the course of the next two to six months in order to optimise and validate their e-HC concepts.
CAEV+ Consortium, China Everbright Environment Group Limited, Cyan Renewables Consortium, and Gennal Engineering Pte Ltd presented the final five proposals. To improve their e-HC designs, MPA will collaborate with these participants as well as the different IHLs and RIs. To boost the energy efficiency and safety of the vessels, the scope of improvements will include cyber health monitoring, fire-resilient battery room design, and optimisation of the vessel’s hull and electrical systems. Similarly, these concepts can be gradually applied to industrial demand aggregation.
Additional programmes to assist the harbour craft industry
The MPA recently released the three vessel charging solutions that will be tested in Singapore in response to the request for proposals issued in August 2023 for the creation, management, and upkeep of e-HC charging stations in Singapore. The creation of a national master plan, implementation strategy, and standards for e-HC charging infrastructure will be aided by the insights gained from the data gathered throughout this study. To create a Technical Reference (TR) for e-HC pricing, MPA is also collaborating with Enterprise Singapore, industry stakeholders, and academic institutions. Public comment on the draft TR is anticipated to open in the second quarter of 2024.
To assist early movers with the greater upfront cost of owning e-HCs, MPA requested financial institutions and intermediaries to submit financing and insurance solutions through an EOI in October 2023. The Expressions of Interest closed on 19th December 2023, and MPA is now reviewing the submissions. By addressing current gaps in the financing and insurance environment, these solutions will promote the introduction of these novel vessel designs while expanding the market for maritime finance and insurance.
Blends up to B50 are already commercially available for biofuels. MPA is developing the standards up to B100 in collaboration with industry. When it becomes more widely available, new harbour vessel engines built after 2030 will have the option of using B100 biofuel or net zero fuels like hydrogen.
If you are looking to meet with global shipyards, contact us today to express interest in the future of MTB Shipyards.
