Maritime

Corvus Energy will build new automated marine battery factory in Norway

New demand for ferries, cruise ships and offshore supply vessels is driving battery-maker Corvus Energy to build a new automated factory in Bergen, Norway.

A Corvus spokesman told AJOT that the Norwegian government will ban maritime emissions in its scenic fjords by 2027. This is driving Norwegian ferry as well as cruise ship operators, whose vessels sail through the fjords, to switch away from diesel power and over to battery power.

The spokesman said the new Corvus factory will use robotics to build the batteries for the maritime industry. This will reduce production costs and speed deliveries.

The spokesman said there are also plans for Corvus to upgrade its manufacturing facility near Vancouver, Canada. This will help Corvus to better serve the North American market.

Speakers at the Electric and Hybrid Marine Expo in Amsterdam are emphasizing that  demand for lower emissions as well as new regulatory requirements for cleaner marine fuel are helping to drive demand for marine batteries.

A spokesman for Maersk said the company could be deploying batteries on its container ships by 2020.

“There is an electric revolution going on in the maritime sector, and Norway is at the center of development. We want to deliver the best solutions in the industry, and this factory will enable us to quickly test and develop new systems that can meet the future needs of the industry,” says Geir Bjoerkeli, CEO of Corvus Energy.

The company says the new battery factory will be more modern and more automated than other similar factories:

“By switching from manual processing to automated production, we will quadruple our capacity. More efficient production also makes us much more competitive against low-cost countries,” says Bjoerkeli.

Corvus Energy has its head office, production and development facilities in Vancouver, Canada but most of its sales, service and marketing activities are located in Bergen, Norway.

Stas Margaronis
Stas Margaronis

WEST COAST CORRESPONDENT

Contact Author

© Copyright 1999–2024 American Journal of Transportation. All Rights Reserved