About

The POSEIDON Project is focused on overcoming the limitations of conventional batteries in marine applications by developing advanced Fast Response Energy Storage Systems (FRESS). These include marinized superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), slow flywheels, and supercapacitors. The project aims to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of shipboard microgrids, contributing to climate-neutral maritime transport. Through scientific research, stakeholder engagement, and innovative tools, POSEIDON seeks to set new standards for energy storage in the maritime industry.

SPECIFIC NEEDS

Conventional electrochemical batteries do not represent a viable solution for all kind of marine applications as the
energy density is lower than needed. Moreover, other issues with battery technology includes the lifetime, swift charging and discharging of batteries which may result in heat, which further causes a reduction in the lifetime of the battery. Hence, there might be a possibility that batteries may be defected or died before they manage to cover the installation cost by reducing the consumption of fuel.

Modern shipboard microgrids have become complex electrical systems due to the presence of high dynamic loads, complex control, and power management, similar to terrestrial islanded microgrids. In order to provide the power needed and to accommodate the electrical needs of the ship grid loads, the integration of energy storage systems (ESS) on-board is unavoidable.

The use of alternative ESS, such as flow batteries, flywheels, supercapacitors or SMES has not been profoundly explore. The higher complexity and lower commercial availability of these systems has limited its use to research studies, although they could provide unique characteristics in terms of the power and energy density and hence improve the performance requirements of the ship microgrid.

Additionally, there is a lack of data on the performance, reliability, availability, maintainability, survivability and
environmental impact on alternative ESS.

EXPECTED RESULTS

POSEIDON will contribute with 3 Innovative Outputs (IO) that will demonstrate the potential applicability of Fast Response Energy Storage Systems (FRESS) in the maritime industry:

  • IO1: Marinized SMES based on CERN high-field superconducting magnets.
  • IO2: Slow Flywheel for waterborne transport.
  • IO3: Supercapacitor based ESS for marine applications.

POSEIDON will develop 3 innovative tools focusing on the main barriers that must be overcome to achieve the penetration of alternative ESS in the maritime industry:

  • Tool1. Refined metrics Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) tool for ESS cost assessment and comparison. Applicability report of FRESS to different waterborne segments.
  • Tool2. LCC and LCA analysis of FRESS technologies applied to the waterborne segment.
  • Tool3. Disruptive technologies assessment: complementarity with hydrogen and solid sails.

D & E & C MEASURES

Communication

  • Participation in scientific journal, congress and conferences.
  • Organize meetings with workshops.
  • Press release and newsletter.
  • Website and social media (Twitter, Facebook,  Instagram).
  • Development of outreach videos.

Dissemination

  • Scientific publication with the results of the simulation and integration of each ESS in different relevant environment.
  • Technical reports on the results obtained and specifications for integration of the systems in the ship.
  • Technical reports on the results obtained of HAZID studies.
  • Workshop with different target groups focusing in specific results (gaps identified for the development
    of policies for authorities; technological integration for shipyards; cost and risk for shipowners; etc.).

Exploitation

  • Use the [3] IO as a background for future projects, to boost its technology readiness level (TRL7/8).
  • Developing a commercial product based on the Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) tool for ESS cost assessment and comparison.

TARGET GROUPS

For the short-, mid- and long- term impacts, it has been stated the following target groups that would benefit from the project results grouped by Category groups:

  • Naval Industry: shipyards, shipping company, shipowner.
  • Governance and Societies: Port Authorities, Regional Authorities, Classification Societies (SSCC).
  • Citizen: marine tourism, passengers, citizens of port cities.
  • Scientific community: technologic and scientific

OUTCOMES

Achieve a comprehensive understanding of [3] potential innovative ESS and their applicability to waterborne transport that will be simulated and tested to laboratory conditions for on-board in a ship. Given this, it is expected to:

  • Update state-of-the-art of applying ESS in waterborne transport: 5 published papers in relevant scientific journal with more than 100 citations.

Solutions to improve energy efficiency and make waterborne transport climate neutral founded upon [3] innovative technologies, selecting the most suitable in terms of ship’s energy needs in order to conserve the batteries for the longest time possible. With this, it is expected to:

  • Reduce 5% of installed power and energy for better efficiency of the system respect the current.
  • Reduce CO2 emissions are offered by 2 ports by favouring traffic with electric/hybrid ships with these ESS systems.

Comprehensive assessment of the technical feasibility of [3] innovative ESS for waterborne operations including efficiency, safety, cost competitiveness compared to batteries, skills requirements, and regulatory aspects. With this, it is expected to:

  • Up-take by 2 European shipyards include this technology in the design of their ships.
  • Up-take by 2 European ship operators adopt the demonstrator of the marinized ESS technology.
  • Definition of normative aspects and regulatory gaps towards standardization validated by one SSCC.

IMPACTS

Scientific

Contributions to at least three full scale on-board demonstrators for two different electrical energy storage solutions by 2027.

Economic/Technological

Towards climate-neutral and environmental friendly mobility through clean solutions across all transport modes while increasing global competitiveness of the EU transport sector, with different pilots validated in the relevant and operational environment of a fully electric boat, supported by the ESS system developed in the project.

Environmental

Clean and sustainable transition of the energy and transport sectors towards climate neutrality facilitated by innovative crosscutting solutions.

Societal

Ensuring European leadership for ESS based on different technologies that will be fit-for-purpose for diverse waterborne applications.