China has commissioned a pair of all-electric container ships, marking a bold step toward cleaner maritime transport. These ships are touted as the largest of their kind globally and promise to start a trend that may revamp a problematic sector of global transportation.

Cleaner and Quieter Seas

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) set out in 2018 to halve shipping emissions by 2050. However, Climate Action Tracker reports that halving emissions is insufficient to prevent global warming from exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set by the Paris Agreement. The shipping industry must generate net zero emissions by 2050 to meet this target, and it’s not on course for that.

The shipping industry currently emits one billion tons of carbon dioxide, accounting for almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a challenging amount of carbon to offset, especially since cargo shipping occupies such a central role in our lives. Just look at how much trouble we’ve had because of the supply chain crisis — as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine — which has led to severe goods shortages and economic downturns.

As always, necessity is the mother of invention. In 2023, Shipbuilder Concordia Damen finished building Antonie, a 443-foot cargo vessel capable of carrying 3,700 tons, entirely powered by hydrogen. In 2021, Norway unveiled the world’s first all-electric container ship. Called Yara, this ship can hold 120 standard 20-foot containers (twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs) of fertilizer at a time, powered by batteries equivalent to 100 Tesla cars. 

The two new all-electric cargo ships being built by Jiangxi Jiangxin Shipbuilding Co. for China’s COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited are expected to be much larger and more powerful. These ships will be powered by ten box batteries delivering 19,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy, with a dedicated battery area away from the crew for safety. Although the company did not disclose the batteries’ range, they can be swapped or recharged at port. The energy capacity is equivalent to 352 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range PLUS vehicles (54 kWh per car).

The vessels feature seven cargo holds with a capacity of 740 TEUs, more than six times than the Yara, along with several comfort features for the crew. The vessel’s bow design reduces wind resistance, noise, and vibration. A dual-engine, dual-prop propulsion system enhances maneuverability in complex seafaring conditions.

Addressing Maritime Pollution

The shipping industry’s global greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise. Experts from the European Federation for Transport and Environment forecast that this could rise to 10% by 2050 if current trends continue. With most goods transported by sea, sustainable solutions are vital to maintaining economic stability and environmental health.

While some have explored biofuels and clean ammonia as alternative energy sources, China is going on the electric route. Mining battery materials is less polluting than extracting fossil fuels, and electric ships emit no operational pollution. COSCO’s Greenwater 01, its first all-electric ship which is already in operation, is expected to cut over 3,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.

The new vessels currently being built (and any all-electric cargo ship, for that matter) are not equipped for long-haul sailing. Their batteries simply don’t have enough energy density to cross the oceans. Instead, China will deploy these electric ships for regional feeder services, connecting to the bustling international hub in Ningbo.