AYK Energy: Brittany Ferries’ second newbuild fitted with ‘world’s largest’ battery

Guillaume de Normandie, Brittany Ferries’ second hybrid electric ferry, has been installed with “the biggest marine battery ever built” from Andorra-based manufacturer AYK Energy. The vessel has also completed sea trials.

Following the installation of the 12 MWh Orion+ battery and completion of sea trials, the ferry is en route to Britain where it will operate the Portsmouth – Caen route.

In 2024, AYK installed the same battery system on Guillaume de Normandie’s sister ship, Saint-Malo, at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Weihai. The Saint-Malo ferry is set to operate Portsmouth – St Malo route with the first sailing scheduled this month.

AYK Energy founder Chris Kruger said the vessels will be able to operate on zero-emission battery power while entering and exiting the port, immediately improving air quality and cutting emissions in built-up port areas. He explained that the vessel is designed to run on LNG, battery power, or a combination of the two.

In Portsmouth, the ship will further benefit from the port’s plug-in shore power. Portsmouth is said to be the only ferry port in the UK offering electric shore-to-ship power.

“These two ferries demonstrate how marine battery technology is advancing in energy density, safety and speed of installation. We are further seeing that the cost of battery-powered vessels is starting to compete with internal combustion engine ships. This is important if electric batteries are to play a key role in the decarbonization of shipping and help the industry meet the IMO’s GHG targets.

“We have supplied what we call a power battery for Brittany Ferries which means it works in combination with fuels like LNG. But we are now seeing that the technology is there to go fully electric, what we call an energy battery. This is the future. And AYK made a significant step forward to making this happen by last month launching a battery called Pisces. This battery has enough energy density to provide full power to larger vessels such as ferries, OSVs, drill rigs and windfarm vessels,” Kruger said.