An Electrifying Project

Is battery/ electric power a suitable fuel choice for the fishing industry?

LIFE is coordinating the EU Support Group on the decarbonisation of small-scale coastal fisheries (SSCF) as part of the EC’s Energy Transition Partnership. According to Brian O’Riordan, LIFE’s Policy Advisor: “Decarbonisation of the fishing sector is to a certain extent a race against time, and currently costs represent an insurmountable barrier to most small-scale operators whose balance sheets bear witness to ever decreasing profitability. The prospects are challenging, especially given the need to either adapt or perish in the current policy environment.”

It is therefore inspiring to hear about the initiatives of small-scale fishers from across Europe who are over coming many difficulties to secure their futures. A particularly inspiring example from the UK is provided below.

Introduction:

The author of this piece, Jeremy Percy, former fisherman, founding Director and Senior Policy Adviser to the Low Impact Fishers of Europe, recently attended the presentation of a project to convert an inshore fishing vessel from diesel fuel to electricity. The project is the brainchild of Hans Unkles, an inshore fishermen from the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Hebrides who has converted a standard Cygnus 21 – a 6.5 metre loa GRP fishing vessel – from diesel to fully electric power.

With a target of net zero across Europe for all aspects of the economy in energy terms, consideration of fully electric driven fishing vessels is of particular relevance to the smaller scale fleet – given the few practical alternative energy solutions currently available.

At the time of writing, the costs of converting an existing vessel to electric power or a new build are a major constraint to development although costs will inevitably come down as initiatives become more widespread. Other constraints include the lack of off-the-shelf solutions, after sales support, and port infrastructure.

Another constraint is the marine equivalent of the ‘range anxiety’ in relation to terrestrial vehicles is exacerbated by the safety issues at sea and remains a limiting factor when compared to traditional power sources. On a good day [no headwinds or head seas] the project boat in question can achieve 47 miles in range and can get two short trips a week depending only on solar. The operator considers that maximum range would be 60 miles in benign conditions and 45 miles in rough waters although he hasn’t pushed the limits.

Even if conversions to electric power become more cost effective, shoreside charging infrastructure will undoubtedly remain a challenge for some time to come although many marinas have a 240v hook up available albeit at a significant cost [£0.70/Kw] when compared to domestic supply. The costs of using a marina rather than a local harbour or mooring can also be expensive.

It is clear that electric power is not practical for towed gears but has relevance for passive gear operations but is currently limited by range and the ability to maintain higher steaming speeds. The project vessel operator works only circa 60 pots [creels] for lobster and crab in a relatively confined area, giving a 3-day soak and two fishing trips per week. He also has access to shoreside charging in a marina close to his operating area.

The Project: It’ll Never Work – UK’s 1st Solar Powered Electric Fishing Boat

During an informative 2-hour presentation, Hans explained the entire process, including costs and the pros and cons of the project – details provided on this link

Hans is a boatbuilder by trade as well as a fisher. This is relevant in that he went above and beyond a ‘simple’ electric system installation in effectively rebuilding the boat, and this added significantly to the costs. I copy his costs below for information. The two costs highlighted reflect this, together with the interminable costs and challenges of acquiring approval from the Marine and Coastguard Agency [MCA] and subsequent registration. One would hope that both these items would reduce dramatically for future initiatives in this respect.

It is also clear that much of the hardware costs are already coming down and the efficiency of electric motors, battery storage and solar panels is improving all the time.

For the initial project, Hans received 60% grant funding that did not include construction or admin time [admin time included dealing with the authorities that was particularly time consuming]. Hans made the point that if he had contracted a boatyard to undertake the conversion, that too would have been grant aided but because he did the work himself, it wasn’t.

Aziprop motor and hardware………………£19,109.66

Epropulsion Batteries…………………..£20,419.81

Electric Hydraulic complete system……….£6,424.16

Bimble Solar…………………………..£1,172.50

Installation equipment………………….£10,295.25

Administration time…………………….£20,000.00

Construction time………………………£40,000.00

Original vessel value…………………..£20,000.00

Net…………………………………..£137,421.38

Funding………………………………-£34,865.87

Total…………………………………£102,555.51

The batteries are Lithium Ion Phosphate that do not suffer so much from the fire risks associated with other lithium based batteries and were agreed on with the MCA after considerable discussions. The batteries take 15 hours to recharge when connected to a land based charger and have a stated lifespan of 3000 charging cycles. Replacement costs are likely to be circa £20k and in the same life cycle, diesel costs would have equated to around £8k.

One important battery related issue is that in the event of problems, one cannot extinguish a lithium based fire and can only abandon ship.

There are effectively few additional running costs or maintenance [oil and filter changes etc] required. So far he has only had to replace a failed relay and seals for the pot hauler that is also electrically powered [a 10Kw motor derated to 4Kw].

What is readily apparent, and particularly noticeable in operation, is the almost complete silence of the power train, as well as of course no fumes.

Copied below are the income and expenditure profiles for his operations to date. Apart from potting for lobster and crab, he also dives for scallops.

As far as he is aware, his is the first fully licenced and registered electric fishing boat on the UK Register. He is aware of one fisher in Wales who uses a diesel engine to get to and from his gear but utilises a battery system for hauling. He is also following up on a company in Gloucestershire in the UK offering a ready to go basic electric vessel, based on a 19 or 21 foot hull for a surprising £60k [this would also need a licence and all the ancillary fishing equipment fitted] and with a Dutch fisher reported to be using a smaller open boat powered by electricity.

Conclusions:

Hans’s skills as both professional boatbuilder and fisherman has enabled him to undertake all the work himself. He should be applauded for taking such a big step but far more of the work would have been grant aided if he had contracted it out.

It is clear that the technology will improve and costs reduce over time but the latter is certainly prohibitive without significant grant aid at present

As he says, the setup favours his quite relaxed fishing operation and he has the benefit of reasonably sheltered waters for the most part and a local charging infrastructure.

In the event that significant grant support was available, this initiative would be a practical proposition for many smaller scale fishing operations. Costs will undoubtedly reduce and the efficiency of batteries, solar and engines improve but at present the system relies on shore-based charging facilities being available.

JP 13.2.25

Photo credits © It’ll Never Work 2024