Industry | Commercial ship design |
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Founded | August 2019 |
Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 1 (2020) |
Key people | Satoshi Ichida (CEO) Tomoaki Ichida (President) |
Services | Planning and design of electric/hydrogen cell commercial ships |
Total assets | ¥50,000,000 (capital) |
Website | Official website |
The e5 Project (commercially registered as e5 Lab Co., Ltd., trading as e5 Lab Inc., and alternatively known as the e5 Consortium) is a Japanese consortium with the purpose of developing renewably-powered commercial ships.
Founded in August 2019, [1] the e5 Project originally consisted of Asahi Tanker Co. Ltd., Exeno Yamamizu Corporation, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., and Mitsubishi Corporation. [2] After founding, Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd., Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd., and Tokyo Electric Power Company joined the partnership. [3]
The name "e5" refers to the five "focus points" of the partnership: electrification, environment, evolution, efficiency, and economics. [4] [1]
In October 2019, the e5 powertrain design was certified for use by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. [5]
In November 2019, e5 announced a collaboration with SoftBank Group to develop a marine broadband network. In the first trial, planned for January through May 2020, ships would "be equipped with flat antennas and local wireless stations", before a longer trial between January 2021 and March 2022 in which SoftBank and OneWeb will test a new satellite communication system designed to develop autonomous or remotely-controlled ships. [6] The software was successfully trialled in February 2020. [7]
The company tested new software designed to allow for the remote operation of ships on 11–12 November 2020. [8] [9]
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Commercial ship design is the focal point of the e5 Project. It has completed its first two designs, the e5 Tanker and Tug, and is developing a third. [1] Both completed e5 designs are capable of ship-to-shore power supply in the event of an emergency. [10] [11]
Class overview | |
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Builders | Asahi Tanker Co. Ltd. |
Building | 2 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 499 tonnes |
Length | 62 metres (203 ft) |
Beam | 10.30 metres (33.8 ft) |
Draft | 4.15 metres (13.6 ft) |
Installed power | 3.48 MWh Orca Energy Storage System battery |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | c. 10 knots |
Capacity | 1,280 cubic metres (45,000 cu ft) |
The e5 Tanker claims to be the first fully electric oil tanker, powered by a 3.5 MWh battery which is projected to "run non-stop for 10 hours on a half-capacity battery". [12] The ship will include a high level of automation [13] and will be charged using wind and solar energy to further reduce emissions that would be incurred in charging the ship. [12]
Asahi Tanker Co. are currently constructing two ships of the e5 Tanker design, the first of which will be completed by March 2022 and the second in March 2023, revised from an original completion target of 2021. [3] [10] [11] The tanker is expected to mainly operate in Tokyo Bay. [1]
Some commentators have called attention to the irony of an electric oil tanker, as the ships deliver fuel which causes pollution several times more severe. [3] [12]
Class overview | |
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General characteristics | |
Installed power | Hydrogen cell plant, lithium ion battery |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 14 knots |
By October 2019, e5 Lab had designed a tugboat that would run on a mixture of electricity and hydrogen fuel cells, produced with the advice of Tokyo Kisen. [1] [10] It will operate in Yokohama Port and Kawasaki Port and is expected to enter service in 2022. [10]
The proposed car carrier, to be developed with the assistance of Mitsui O.S.K., [14] would be powered by a mixture of liquefied natural gas and hydrogen cell generated electricity. Unlike e5 Lab's other projects, it would not be emission free, but would produce reduced emissions. [14]
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as ships and aircraft. Motive power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy, either by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors or, less commonly, by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine.
A zero-emission vehicle, or ZEV, is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. This is because under cold-start conditions for example, internal combustion engines tend to produce the maximum amount of pollutants. In a number of countries and states, transport is cited as the main source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants. The desire to reduce this is thus politically strong.
The hydrogen economy uses hydrogen to decarbonize economic sectors which are hard to electrify, essentially, the "hard-to-abate" sectors such as cement, steel, long-haul transport, etc. In order to phase out fossil fuels and limit climate change, hydrogen can be created from water using renewable sources such as wind and solar, and its combustion only releases water vapor into the atmosphere.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles that emit only water and heat. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engine-powered generator. Most PHEVs are passenger cars, but there are also PHEV versions of sports cars, commercial vehicles and vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, and even military vehicles.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G), also known as Vehicle-to-home (V2H), describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) sell demand response services to the grid. Demand services are either delivering electricity or by reducing their charging rate. Demand services reduce pressure on the grid, which might otherwise experience disruption from load variations. Vehicle-to-load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) are related, but the AC phase is not sychronised with the grid, so the power is only available to an "off grid" load.
The Honda Clarity is a nameplate used by Honda on alternative fuel vehicles. It was initially used only on hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles such as the 2008 Honda FCX Clarity, but in 2017 the nameplate was expanded to include the battery-electric Honda Clarity Electric and the plug-in hybrid electric Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, in addition to the next generation Honda Clarity Fuel Cell. Clarity production ended in August 2021 with US leases for the fuel cell variant continuing through to 2022.
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, the most common being batteries. Most have electric motors driving propellers or turbines.
A hydrogen-powered aircraft is an aeroplane that uses hydrogen fuel as a power source. Hydrogen can either be burned in a jet engine or another kind of internal combustion engine, or can be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity to power an electric propulsor. It cannot be stored in a traditional wet wing, and hydrogen tanks have to be housed in the fuselage or be supported by the wing.
A hybrid train is a locomotive, railcar or train that uses an onboard rechargeable energy storage system (RESS), placed between the power source and the traction transmission system connected to the wheels. Since most diesel locomotives are diesel-electric, they have all the components of a series hybrid transmission except the storage battery, making this a relatively simple prospect.
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each function as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks, buses, boats and aircraft also exist.
An alternative fuel vehicle is a motor vehicle that runs on alternative fuel rather than traditional petroleum fuels. The term also refers to any technology powering an engine that does not solely involve petroleum. Because of a combination of factors, such as environmental concerns, high oil-prices and the potential for peak oil, development of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world.
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electric motor or internal combustion engine driving a propeller, or less frequently, in pump-jets, an impeller. Marine engineering is the discipline concerned with the engineering design process of marine propulsion systems.
A hydrogen ship is a hydrogen fueled ship, power-assisted by an electric motor that gets its electricity from a fuel cell. Or uses hydrogen fuel in an internal combustion engine.
A fuel cell bus is a bus that uses a hydrogen fuel cell as its power source for electrically driven wheels, sometimes augmented in a hybrid fashion with batteries or a supercapacitor. The only emission from the bus is water. Several cities around the world have trialled and tested fuel cell buses, with over 5,600 buses in use worldwide, the majority of which are in China.
The Renault Z.E. is a line of all-electric cars from Renault. The line began with the Z.E series of concept cars. The first production car is the Renault Fluence Z.E. that was slated for sales to the public in Israel and Denmark by late 2011 as part of the Better Place network, operated by Renault Fluence ZE cars. In 2011 Renault was awarded a contract to supply 15,600 electric vehicles to the French government and the state-owned postal service, La Poste. The vehicles are to contribute to a planned 25,000 electric vehicle fleet owned by the French government.
The FV-E991 series (FV-E991系), nicknamed HYBARI, is a hydrogen fuel cell electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company from 2022.