AIDA Cruises and Corvus Energy have signed an agreement to further co-operate at the opening ceremony for the battery manufacturer’s first production plant in Norway.
On the occasion of the opening of the production plant in Bergen, Norway on 5th September, AIDA President, Felix Eichhorn signed the agreement to electrify the first AIDA cruise ship.
‘AIDAperla’ will be the first ship to be fitted with Corvus’ lithium-ion batteries, produced in Norway, in 2020. The 300 m long cruise ship will receive a battery pack capable of generating a total output of 10 MWh. This will be the largest battery storage system worldwide to be ever installed on a passenger ship, the companies claimed.
“The integration of innovative battery technology into our ‘Green Cruising Strategy’ is another important practical step we are taking on our path towards emission neutral ship operation. Corvus Energy is an important partner for us in the electrification of our ships,” said AIDA President, Felix Eichhorn.
The battery systems can be charged with shore power and during sea operation (peak load shaving). In addition to pure battery operations, the systems may also contribute for an extended period of time, eg during port mooring or during ship manoeuvres. Thanks to the use of this technology, the consumption of fossil fuel will reduced further and the efficiency of ship operations will be increased significantly, AIDA said.
It is planned to incorporate the experiences from this pilot operation on board other AIDA and Costa cruise ships.
The use of a battery system on an AIDA ship is another important milestone towards an emissions-neutral ship operation. By the end of 2018, AIDA Cruises had launched ‘AIDAnova’, the world’s first cruise ship operating entirely on low-emission LNG. Recently, AIDA Cruises was awarded the Blue Angel, the German Federal Government’s ecolabel for ‘AIDAnova’s’ environmentally friendly ship design. By 2023, two more AIDA LNG vessels will enter service.
At the end of 2020, 12 of 14 AIDA cruise ships will be able to receive shore power where available. Since 2017, ‘AIDAsol’ has been using the shore power plant in Hamburg-Altona on a regular basis.
As part of its ‘Green Cruising Strategy’, AIDA is also exploring the possibilities of CO2-free production of liquefied gas from renewable sources (‘Power to Gas’ project) and the use of fuel cells on cruise ships.
