31 October 2024

On 18 October, British Marine’s Decarbonisation Project Lead Ross Wombwell attended The power behind marine vessel electrification – lithium-ion batteries and charging technology Conference held at British Marine member South Devon Colleges’ Noss-on-Dart Marine Academy. Organised and run by South Hams District Council and supported by Maritime UK South West, the event brought together a number of experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities of marine decarbonisation and electrification for the area. 

With presentations from RS Electric, Salcombe and Dartmouth Harbour Masters, the University of Exeter and ZPN energy, amongst others, the day delved into the details of the various projects that are currently being developed in the area, and some of the challenges and opportunities that are being faced by those implementing electric propulsion and supporting services. 

Talks focused on the Zero Emission Network of Workboats and The Electric Seaway projects, the electrification of a historic workboat in Dartmouth and the importance of data in delivering solutions. The morning sessions were full of knowledge and experience to be taken away by the attendees. 

The afternoon session was a strong Q & A on electrification, with participants including Owen Preece of MECAL, Andy Crick of Pantaenius UK and Ross Wombwell of British Marine, covering the intricacies of electric conversions from both certification, workboat and insurance perspectives along with discussions on how the industry’s training needs are changing to support these new technologies. 
To find out more about electrification and the challenges of industry, British Marine members can go to the British Marine Decarbonisation Hub.