AYK Energy, one of the world’s fastest growing marine battery manufacturers, is building a new 4,200 KWh battery for Spanish ship owner Mureloil after striking its latest deal.

The agreement will see AYK’s Aries + battery supplied on a new 7999 DWT diesel-electric product tanker being built for Mureloil at Astilleros Murueta shipyard near Bilbao. The ship owner said it is embracing AYK’s battery technology as part of its commitment to decarbonization.

AYK founder Chris Kruger said the vessel will be able to operate on zero emission battery power while entering and exiting port immediately improving air quality and cutting emissions in built up port areas.  He said the vessel is designed to run on diesel,  battery-power or a combination of the two.  He confirmed the deal was brokered by AYK’s Spanish agent VULKAN Española.

“We’d like to thank Mureloil and Vulkan for their efforts and for giving AYK the opportunity to supply this vessel,” he said. “We are now starting to see that electric and hybrid vessels can compete with diesel engine vessels on price. That is what has to happen if the industry is going to kickstart the transition to electric ships. The last six months has seen AYK receive a higher number of quotations for vessels requiring bigger batteries than ever before. This includes ferries, tugs and windfarm vessels.”

Mr Kruger said with pressure piling onto European ship owners from regulators in the form of legislation carrying stiff fines such as FuelEU and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) due to come into force from 2025, going electric is becoming more attractive.

“Although this vessel is a hybrid we are now seeing that the technology is there to go fully electric,“ he said. “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. Critically we managed to price this at $300 per Kilo-watt hour (kWh) which is a key industry milestone for ship owners if we are to see widespread adoption. The industry standard started at $1600 per kWh 2012, while recent industry prices hover at $450-$550 per kWh. Getting to $300 kWh is very important if batteries are to be one of the prime drivers of the decarbonisation of shipping.”

Mr Kruger added that AYK’s new 5000 sqm Chinese factory in Zhuhai is playing a key role in making batteries efficently.

“I knew we had to build our first major factory in China as it is far and away the global centre of EV and cell technology,“ he said. “Having the cell maker on our doorstep supercharges the speed of the manufacturing process and cuts the costs significantly for clients like Mureloil. This set up will enable the ultimate democratisation of the marine batteries, making the technology affordable and safe for all. Batteries have a vital role in helping vessel owners meet the IMO GHG emission targets.“

Kruger said production is ramping up at AYK’s factory with sales projected to reach 100 MWh in 2024. He said the company is now actively looking at building gigafactories in Europe and America to support the growth of the business.

Kruger is known as one of the founders of marine battery technology, having worked first in the electric car industry before moving to marine.  He developed the battery for the first hybrid propulsion ferry, Princess Benedikte, and the first fully electric ferry, Ampere in 2012. A native South African now based in Andorra he established AYK Energy in 2018 building its first factory in 2023 China to be close to the center of the battery industry supply chain which he says is 10 years ahead of Europe.