Singapore’s first electric cargo vessel set to launch in Q4
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An artist's impression of the soon-to-be-launched Hydromover, a fully electric cargo vessel developed by the Goal Zero Consortium.
PHOTO: YINSON GREEN TECHNOLOGIES
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KUALA LUMPUR - Singapore’s first electric cargo vessel is due to start sea trials and launch in the fourth quarter, according to Yinson Green Technologies (YGT), part of a consortium chosen by the Republic to help electrify marine craft.
The Hydromover, developed by the Goal Zero consortium, is near completion, YGT chief executive Eirik Barclay said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur this week.
YGT will be introducing an electric vessel for transferring crew – developed with Norwegian start-up Lift Ocean – by the end of 2023, he said. That craft is called the Hydroglyder.
“We want to be part of all associated services with clean electric vessels, starting with Singapore,” he said.
YGT is a subsidiary of Malaysia-listed Yinson Holdings. Yinson shares have risen about 3 per cent in 2023.
With the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore requiring all harbour craft to be fully electric or be able to run on B100 biofuels or net zero fuels from 2030, oil giant Shell launched Singapore’s first fully electric passenger ferry in May to transport workers to its refinery in Pulau Bukom.
The Goal Zero consortium is led by Singapore-based SeaTech Solutions International, designer of the Hydromover, which has capacity to carry 25 tonnes of cargo and has a battery that can be swopped in minutes when depleted, according to YGT’s website.
YGT will operate the harbour vessel, using it for commercial operations under its recently launched MarinEV unit.
MarinEV will offer vessel leasing, servicing, maintenance and products to help the maritime industry’s transition to net zero.
Singapore provided $9 million in funding in 2021 to Goal Zero and two other consortiums led by Keppel Fels and Sembcorp Marine to develop electric vessels.
Keppel aims to establish an electric vessel supply chain by 2025, while Seatrium, the former Sembcorp Marine, has not revealed a completion target.
“We are seeing a dramatic electrification of all modes of transport, so we started by focusing on the electrification of the marine area,” said Mr Barclay, who headed Yinson Holdings’ offshore production business before becoming YGT CEO in January.
The Hydromover, developed by the Goal Zero consortium, is near completion, YGT chief executive officer Eirik Barclay said.
PHOTO: YINSON.COM
YGT also started RydeEV, an electric bike-leasing business in Malaysia with swoppable battery technology, and in the fourth quarter, it will launch DrivEV in Malaysia, a leasing business for electric vehicles.
It has already signed fleet-leasing agreements with Pos Malaysia and UEM Edgenta.
“In South-east Asia there are 250 million motorbikes,” Mr Barclay said. “Over the next 10 years, all of those are going to become electric. So it’s an incredibly large market space to be playing in.”
Through its charging business ChargEV, YGT owns 379 EV charging stations in Malaysia, making it the largest operator in the country.
It has started operations in Singapore and aims to have 10 stations by the end of 2023. BLOOMBERG
Correction note: An earlier version of this article stated that all new harbour craft will have to be zero emission by 2030. Bloomberg has since updated the story to reflect the correct emissions regulations.
