World’s 1st multipurpose battery container to help Damen cut yard emissions

Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group has taken over the Skoonbox — the world’s first maritime-certified, multipurpose battery container — from compatriot green energy supplier Skoon Energy.

The container will be used to deliver renewable power at Damen yards for applications where diesel generators or ships’ engines are primarily used at present.

This 20-foot container is said to be the first step towards Damen’s sustainable battery network for mobile and temporary applications. It can potentially also be deployed for customers worldwide.

The Skoonbox was unveiled during the 2018 World Port Days and major developments have been made since. The battery container contains 314 lithium batteries, good for 638 kWh of renewable energy.

In recent years, the Skoonbox has been used for numerous applications in the Amsterdam Port Area. Putting the Skoonbox in a barge, for example, resulted in a floating battery that has supplied green power to a range of ships.

“The Skoonbox, and the clean energy systems coming in its wake, are opening up tremendous opportunities for us to reduce our ecological footprint and those of our customers,” Vincent de Maat from Damen Shipyards Group explained.

“This is a sustainable replacement for diesel generators but it can also be used as a green form of shore power, allowing ships berthed at our repair yards to turn off their on-board engines. That saves a lot of emissions.”

Digital platform

“Our focus is on developing Skoon Sharing, the software platform that brings together both local and international supply and demand for mobile, sustainable energy solutions,” Peter Paul van Voorst tot Voorst, CEO and founder of Skoon Energy, revealed.

“The Skoonbox experience has provided us with a tremendous amount of indispensable data and insights. As part of our long-term vision, our aim is not to be hardware owners. Our strength is the development of customer-friendly and commercially scalable software and AI. That is how we realise easy access to clean energy, wherever it may be.”