4 ms·

Crude oil is about 3% of global electricity production and continues falling. And the efficiency is particularly bad when you’re using it in a reciprocating eng

Crude oil is about 3% of global electricity production and continues falling. And the efficiency is particularly bad when you’re using it in a reciprocating engine (as on a ship) instead of a turbine (as on land). Natgas and coal are cheaper hydrocarbons. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.PETR.ZS https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.PETR.ZS Oil’s benefit is its density, storability and pumpability. All I know is that a giant ship is the most cost-effective way to transport anything heavy by vehicle. A few percent improved efficiency in exchange for losing a handful of container capacity on a ship carrying several thousand is a net positive. And cargo shipping is a tight business. Battery storage and conversion losses are far less than the conversion losses from generating electricity from an ICE.

Panzer04 4y ago
The primary issue with ships is you don’t get to recharge the batteries every night - so you need way more capacity than an equivalent application on land (even if ships are very efficient)
fdsafdsfdsa 4y ago
>Battery storage and conversion losses are far less than the conversion losses from generating electricity from an ICE. No, they are not. Here's some research for large-scale battery storage systems: https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1409737 https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1409737 Rround-trip energy storage efficiency is reported as 70% - 80%. Any crappy genset will match that. I really don't understand this idea for a "hybrid" ship. What size battery would you need, to power the electricals of a ship for a sea voyage? What is the payback period to the shipping company?