E5 Project

Last updated
e5 Lab Co., Ltd.
IndustryCommercial ship design
FoundedAugust 2019;5 years ago (2019-08)
Headquarters
Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Number of locations
1 (2020)
Key people
Satoshi Ichida (CEO)
Tomoaki Ichida (President)
ServicesPlanning 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.

Contents

History

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]

Connectivity and software

Marine broadband project

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]

Marindows

Ship design projects

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]

Tanker

e5 Tanker
Class overview
BuildersAsahi Tanker Co. Ltd.
Building2
General characteristics
Tonnage499 tonnes
Length62 metres (203 ft)
Beam10.30 metres (33.8 ft)
Draft4.15 metres (13.6 ft)
Installed power3.48 MWh Orca Energy Storage System battery
Propulsion
Speedc.10 knots
Capacity1,280 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]

Tug

e5 Tug
General characteristics
Installed powerHydrogen cell plant, lithium ion battery
Propulsion
Speed14 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]

Car carrier

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric boat</span> Type of watercraft

An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen vehicle</span> Vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power

A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen to move. Hydrogen vehicles include some road vehicles, rail vehicles, space rockets, forklifts, 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 hydrogen internal combustion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero-emissions vehicle</span> Class of motor vehicle

A zero-emission vehicle (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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuel cell vehicle</span> Vehicle that uses a fuel cell to power its electric motor

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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle-to-grid</span> Vehicle charging system that allows discharge and storage of electricity

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) sell demand response services to the grid. Demand services are either delivering electricity to the grid or reducing the rate of charge from the grid. Demand services reduce the peaks in demand for grid supply, and hence reduce the probability of disruption from load variations. Vehicle-to-load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) are related, but the AC phase is not synchronised with the grid, so the power is only available to "off-grid" load.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honda Clarity</span> Motor vehicle

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen-powered aircraft</span> Type of airplane

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybrid electric vehicle</span> Type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle

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 functions as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks, buses, boats, tow trucks, and aircraft also exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative fuel vehicle</span> Vehicle not powered by petrol or diesel

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 and health concerns including climate change and air pollution, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine propulsion</span> Systems for generating thrust for ships and boats on water

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyota FCHV</span>

The Toyota FCHV is a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle development programme of the Toyota Motor Corporation, which was leased to a limited number of drivers in the United States and Japan beginning in 2002. The Toyota FCHV and Honda FCX, which began leasing on 2 December 2002, became the world's first government-certified commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Its first commercial fuel cell vehicle was developed from the FCHV-4, which was adapted from the Toyota Highlander body. "FCHV" stands for "Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle". A number of prototypes have been produced, up to the latest FCHV-adv ("advanced").

A hydrogen ship is a hydrogen fueled ship, using an electric motor that gets its electricity from a fuel cell, or hydrogen fuel in an internal combustion engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuel cell bus</span> Hydrogen powered bus

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault Z.E.</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NE Train</span> Experimental Japanese train

The "NE Train" (NEトレイン) was an experimental railcar which has been used to test a number of alternative power sources by the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) and East Japan Railway Company in Japan since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in Japan</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in Japan

The fleet of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Japan totaled just over 300,000 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles in circulation at the end of 2020, consisting of 156,381 all-electric passenger cars, 136,700 plug-in hybrids, and 9,904 light-commercial vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyota Mirai</span> Hydrogen fuel cell car

The Toyota Mirai is a mid-size hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) manufactured by Toyota, and is the first FCV to be mass-produced and sold commercially. The Mirai was unveiled at the November 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. As of November 2022, global sales totaled 21,475 units; the top-selling markets were the U.S. with 11,368 units, Japan with 7,435 and the rest of the world with 2,622.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyota JPN Taxi</span> Motor vehicle

The Toyota JPN Taxi, sometimes known as the Toyota Japan Taxi, is a hybrid electric taxicab built to universal design specifications mandated by the Japanese government. Exhibited as the JPN Taxi Concept at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show in 2013, it has been produced by Toyota since 2017, mainly for the Japanese and Hong Kong markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FV-E991 series</span> Japanese fuel cell electric multiple unit train

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "e5 Lab". e5 Ship (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  2. "7 Japanese companies form e5 Consortium to promote electric vessels; launching electric tanker in 2022". Green Car Congress. 2020-05-22. Archived from the original on 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  3. 1 2 3 Lambert, Fred (2020-05-22). "Massive electric oil tankers are coming - oh the irony". Electrek. Archived from the original on 2020-05-30. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  4. "Japanese Companies to Launch First Zero-Emission Electric Tanker". The Maritime Executive. 2020-05-22. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  5. "報道発表資料:海のEVの開発等の計画を初めて認定!!~海運のゼロエミッション化への大きな第一歩を踏み出しました~ - 国土交通省". Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (in Japanese). 2019-10-31. Archived from the original on 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  6. "e5 Lab and SoftBank Corp. to Begin Jointly Studying Marine Broadband Services that Use Next-generation Communication Satellites" (PDF). e5 Ship. 2019-11-28. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  7. "e5 Lab Conducts Demonstration Test of High-speed Satellite Communication System for Maritime Use" (PDF). e5 Project. 2020-07-10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-25.
  8. "Japan's Roboship Project Conducts Proof of Concept Remote Control Test". The Maritime Executive. 2020-11-11. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  9. "Mitsubishi Shipbuilding to explore Roboship as future marine vessel". Ship Technology. 2020-11-12. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  10. 1 2 3 4 ""e5 Tug" – electric tug powered by battery and hydrogen fuel cell" (PDF). e5 Ship. 2019-10-29. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  11. 1 2 "Asahi Tanker orders world's first zero-emission electric propulsion bunker tankers". Manifold Times. 2020-03-31. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  12. 1 2 3 Brownell, Bradley (2020-05-22). "The Japanese Are Developing An Awesome 3.5 MWh Battery-Powered Ocean Freighter". Jalopnik. Archived from the original on 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  13. "Asahi Tanker decided to build two electric tankers equipped with lithium-ion batteries for the first time in the world". Asahi Tanker Co., Ltd. 2020-03-27. Archived from the original on 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  14. 1 2 "MOL and e5 Lab Launch Study on Hydrogen Hybrid Pure Car Carrier" (PDF). e5 Ship. 2019-12-17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-06-26.