Battery-electric ships carry lithium-ion packs charged from shore and drive motors, pods or waterjets, and the Maritime Battery Forum register passed 2,000 vessels with about 2.4 GWh in October 2026. The 130 m China Zorrilla entered service with more than 40 MWh, while charging power has scaled from 1 MW to planned 55 MW.
What it is and how it works
A fully electric vessel carries lithium-ion batteries, in NMC, LFP or LTO chemistry, that are charged from shore and feed electric motors, pods or waterjets through a DC bus. Charging power has scaled faster than battery size. MF Ampere, in service since 2015, used a battery of about 1 MWh with 260 kWh shore buffer batteries at each end of its crossing; Basto Electric, delivered in 2021, has 4.3 MWh and a 9 MW charger with 7.2 MW in regular use, as reported by electrive; China Zorrilla uses two 8 MW connections. Grid connection and terminal works are now the pacing item for large electric ferries.
Why it matters now
The Maritime Battery Forum register passed 2,000 commercial battery vessels, delivered plus on order, in October 2026 with about 2.4 GWh, an average of 1.5 MWh per ship (Manifold Times). Passenger ships lead with 570, followed by offshore vessels at 313, cargo ships at 265 and fishing vessels at 219; the register tracks only 267 Chinese ships, which MBF says understates China's fleet (Hellenic Shipping News). DNV counted 944 battery ships in operation and 451 under construction in January 2025, two-thirds in Europe and a third in Norway (Faraday Institution), and Norway alone had 111 electric car and passenger ferries by August 2026 (Business Norway). Fully electric ships are 18% of the register, a share that has held for two years.
Key players and products
Corvus Energy reports about 1,300 MWh across more than 1,300 installations, says it supplies more than half of the world's zero-emission vessels, raised USD 60 million in October 2025 and launched its cobalt-free LFP Blue Whale NxtGen in December 2025 (BW Group). Leclanche supplies ferries, and Echandia specialises in LTO cells, claiming more than 30,000 cycles. Incat and Damen are the leading builders, with Siemens Energy and Wartsila supplying propulsion. In tugs, Sanmar had completed nine fully electric vessels with six more building by July 2025, according to ship.energy, and builders say a fully electric tug costs roughly 50% more than a diesel equivalent, as reported by Transport Policy Matters.
Figures that matter
COSCO's Greenwater 01, a 700 TEU ship on a Shanghai-Nanjing service, carries more than 50 MWh in swappable 1,600 kWh container batteries and COSCO claims about 3,900 kg of fuel saved per 100 nautical miles (Electrek). Yara Birkeland, at 120 TEU, has about 6.7-7 MWh, and Bibby Marine's electric service operation vessel will carry nearly 25 MWh of LFP storage for 2027, according to SWZ Maritime. No sourced marine battery cost in USD per kWh was found during research.
| Metric | Value | Source type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| MBF register, delivered plus on order | 2,000+ vessels, about 2.4 GWh | aggregator | Maritime Battery Forum via Manifold Times |
| DNV AFI battery ships, January 2025 | 944 in operation, 451 building | aggregator | DNV via Faraday Institution |
| Norway electric ferries, August 2026 | 111 | trade-press | Business Norway |
| China Zorrilla battery | more than 40 MWh, 5,016 modules | trade-press | Shippax, The Driven |
| China Zorrilla charging | two 8 MW connections | trade-press | Shippax |
| Molslinjen Hull 102, planned | 44.75 MWh, 55 MW charging | trade-press | Renewable Energy Industry |
| Greenwater 01 battery | more than 50 MWh, 700 TEU | vendor | COSCO via Electrek |
| Electric tug cost premium | roughly 50% | trade-press | Transport Policy Matters |
Developments 2023-2026
- Late October 2026: the 130 m Incat-built China Zorrilla (Buquebus, 2,100 passengers, 225 vehicles) enters commercial service on the Buenos Aires-Colonia route as the largest battery-electric ship, with more than 40 MWh in 5,016 Corvus modules weighing about 250-260 t (Shippax; The Driven). One source cites 41.2 MWh and a 24 MW charger, which conflicts with Incat's two 8 MW connections.
- Molslinjen's Incat Hull 102 is planned at 44.75 MWh with 55 MW charging, a figure resting on a single source (Renewable Energy Industry).
- May 2025: Wartsila is chosen to supply the electric propulsion for the first US battery-electric zero-emission high-speed passenger ferries.
- E/F Ellen in Denmark is replacing its original 4.3 MWh NMC pack with a 3.2 MWh Echandia LTO system.
- Safety rules lag the fleet: a US Coast Guard alert followed a passenger-vessel battery fire caused by loosely crimped lugs (IMCA), a 2025 review in the Journal of Energy Storage notes that SOLAS contains no specific lithium-ion BESS rules, and mandatory IMO instruments on battery carriage are not expected before 2026-2028.
Outlook
Corvus's move to LFP and the Ellen repack to LTO point to safer, longer-life chemistries for ferries where weight matters less, while NMC keeps a role in high-speed craft. China's swappable-container model is a distinct architecture that Western registers under-count. The contested China Zorrilla charging figure and the single-source Molslinjen numbers should be verified against primary specifications before use.
