Enhanced electric operation and battery durability (ZEWT Partnership)

¿De qué trata esta convocatoria?

The call funds full-scale demonstrations that extend the range, power and battery life of fully electric ferries, short sea, offshore and inland vessels. Results are reported to the ZEWT partnership.

¿Qué financia esta convocatoria?

Scope

This Horizon Innovation Action improves fully battery-electric operation of ferries, short sea shipping, offshore and inland vessels, focusing on range, fast charging, higher power and battery lifetime, and on the interface between vessels and port operations.

Expected activities

• Full-scale demonstration of solutions for extended range and battery cycles, going beyond scaling up existing commercial batteries.
• Raise operational range to at least 150 nautical miles (277.8 km for inland navigation) for vessels of 400-6,500 GT, or inland river vessels of 86-135 metres on free-flowing rivers upstream, with rapid in-route charging.
• Demonstrate economic viability in normal operation against a state-of-the-art baseline.
• Energy-efficiency measures, adaptive vessel-wide energy management and intelligent battery management.
• Concepts for rapid zero-emission in-route, fast or offshore charging and battery replenishment.
• Modular design and retrofitting, ideally one full retrofit and several replications.
• Safety recommendations building on EMSA and CESNI guidance, fire safety for battery rooms, and specialised training courses with education providers.

Expected outcomes

Electric-only autonomy of at least 150 nautical miles, peak propulsion power beyond 5 MW, more charging cycles with high-power charging, identified business cases and replication roadmaps, and longer, safer battery life in waterborne conditions. Activities are expected to reach TRL 8 by the end of the project.

¿Qué se espera de las propuestas?

• Proposals should address all listed aspects, including a full-scale demonstration.
• Proposals are encouraged to prioritise shipyards, equipment manufacturers and suppliers located in the EU and EEA.

¿Cuándo termina el plazo?

14 de abril de 2027 (159 días)

14 April 2027 (single-stage submission). Planned opening date: 15 December 2026.