Author: Current Direct

We are pleased to confirm that Current Direct partner Rhoé Urban Technologies will speak at the 45th Annual Interferry Conference, taking place in Santander from October the 2^nd to the 6^th 2021

The 2021 Interferry Conference in Santander is the premier event in the calendar of shipping conferences, and we are excited that Rhoé has been given the opportunity to speak on behalf Current Direct in such a prestigious event.

Rhoé will present the extensive research that has conducted, under the framework of the Current Direct project, on battery swapping in waterborne transport. It investigates the transfer of fundamental characteristics of existing ground battery swapping, while implementing the same, to the corresponding operational environment of ferries, inland waterways, and coastal shipping. In addition to that, it suggests a cloud-based Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) platform as a resilient management approach of the waterborne battery swapping method that will process information, decide, provide directions and optimize the work-cycle of a waterborne battery swapping network by providing numerous industry leading features.

This innovative research is the heart of the Current Direct project and will significantly alter the maritime industry’s environment.

Do not miss it, click on the following link for further information and registration

https://interferryconference.com/

The event took place on the 22^nd of June. It was a great presentation by our project technical coordinator Shaun White (Spear Power Systems) on Current Direct. The event data is now available! To access the presentation slides & event recording, follow the link below:

https://www.rivieramm.com/events/maritime-hybrid-and-electric-power-webinar-week-3

Welcome to the first edition of Current Direct newsletter!

The newsletter will be issued twice a year with the aim to provide an overview on the latest news, development and general progress of the project.

This first issue focuses on the main activities and achievements accomplished during the first six months of the project (January – June 2021)

The newsletter is available, check it out here.

Tomorrow at 10:00 CET our technical project coordinator Shaun White, from Spear will provide an overview and introduction to the Current Direct project.

Join us to learn more about Current direct by signing up here for free: https://www.rivieramm.com/events/maritime-hybrid-and-electric-power-webinar-week-3

We are happy to announce that Current Direct will actively participate in the Electric & Hybrid Marine World Expo Virtual ‘Live’ Conference and three partners from Current Direct consortium have been invited to present.

Our partners will present the following three topics:

• Applicability of containerized ESS on inland waterway and coastal shipping
• Onshore infrastructure for electrification of swappable containerized battery systems
• EU project for swappable container waterborne transport batteries

Electric & Hybrid Marine Virtual Conference will take place from 13^th to 15th September 2021 and will provides a crucial platform for shipowners and operators, boat builders, propulsion system designers and manufacturers, naval architects, military fleet operators/chiefs, and of course port operators, to engage with speakers and suppliers who will present the next generation of electric and hybrid marine propulsion technologies.

Join us and be part of the future !

We are glad to announce that Current Direct project has just released an insightful document which sets the path towards large-scale adoption and implementation of batteries for waterborne transport.

Current Direct’s containerized Battery Energy Storage, targets a solution to maximize the energy content in the fixed footprint of a 20-foot equivalent sized structure.

A containerized Battery Energy Storage can electrically be built as a solution where the electrical output is AC voltage or DC voltage. This white paper introduces the differences of both AC voltage and DC voltage solution.

The mentioned document, will guide the reader with arguments on the benefits and drawbacks with the different systems with conclusion towards the DC voltage solution.

The AC vs DC white paper is available here. Check it out!

On January the 1^st 2021 the Current Direct project officially started, and the kick-off meeting of the project took place virtually on January the 5^th. Moreover, on April the 26^th the project’s website has officially been launched.

Current Direct, a research and innovation project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program, will revolutionize the way we move goods and people by water. By cutting the cost of today’s marine battery electric drivetrains in half and relieving ship owners of the burden of capital expense, Current Direct will enable rapid adoption to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Current Direct will develop and demonstrate an innovative, interchangeable waterborne transport battery system and an Energy as a Service Platform in an operational environment in the Port of Rotterdam. Current Direct will consider its integration across the range of different vessel types used in the coastal and inland waterway transport industry, including short to medium range freight and ferry services.

Follow our project on LinkedIn for more updates!

On April the 22^nd 2021 Spears Power Systems, as project’s technical coordinator, presented the Current Direct project in the Maritime Battery Forum

The Maritime Battery Forum (MBF), established in 2014 is a meeting place for exchange of knowledge based on experience from the usage of batteries within the shipping and offshore industries.

Further information on the topic can be found here!

On March 19-21 2021 the Current Direct project was presented at China International Battery Fair (CIBF) by our consortium partner Foreship Ltd.

About CIBF: The CIBF – China International Battery Fair is the world’s largest trade fair devoted to batteries and takes place every two years in Shenzhen. The organizer of the fair CIAPS is China’s leading association for battery technology. Exhibitors present not only all kinds of battery products and production technologies, but also machinery, equipment, materials, metrology and testing technology and therefore all segment of the industry are united under one roof. The CIBF is an ideal platform to demonstrate the competitiveness of companies, to build production capacity and to learn about the latest technologies, trends and innovations on the market. With the increasing importance of China in the high-energy storage sector the international importance of CIBF increases. Besides an additional incentive is created by the accompanying conference.

Current Direct presentation: Current Direct project’s key attributes were presented and special emphasis was placed on how the Energy as a Service platform coupled with the containerized Battery Energy Storage will enable Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction within the European waterways.

Key facts:

CIBF attendees: 300

Media reported for the summit: 300

Location: Shenzhen, China