(CNB) WORLD'S LARGEST HYBRID SHIP

An artist’s impression of the Saint-Malo at sea. According to Brittany Ferries will have a battery capacity of 11.5 megawatt hours. - Brittany Ferries

A ship set to carry passengers between the U.K. and France in the next few years will be the largest hybrid-vessel ever built, according to operator Brittany Ferries.

In a statement Tuesday, the company said the Saint-Malo vessel would have a battery capacity of 11.5 megawatt hours. This, the firm added, was “approximately double that typically used for hybrid propulsion in marine vessels.”

Brittany Ferries said the ship is set to be delivered in 2024. A second hybrid will join its fleet shortly after, traveling between Portsmouth and Caen.

The idea behind the hybrid ships is that they can run on liquefied natural gas (a fossil fuel), battery power or a combination of the two.

Brittany Ferries said a total of three hybrid ships were being built by Stena RoRo using hybrid technology from Finnish firm Wärtsilä.

“The extensive battery size will allow the vessels to operate with full power, using both propellers and all thrusters to manoeuvre emissions-free in and out of ports, even in bad weather,” Hakan Agnevall, the Wartsila CEO, said.

Marine-based transport is no different to other types of mobility in that it has a considerable environmental footprint.

According to Transport & Environment, a campaign group headquartered in Brussels, ships represent “a significant source of oil consumption and emissions in the EU.”

Citing analysis of data from Eurostat, T&E adds that 2019 saw EU shipping consume “12.2% of all transport fuel.”

Elsewhere, the International Energy Agency says international shipping was responsible for around 2% of the planet’s energy related carbon dioxide emissions in 2020. CNBC - link - Anmar Frangoul - link - more like this (shipping) - link - more like this (Brittany) - link - more like this (France) - link

BRITTANY RENEWABLE ENERGY HUB

Swedish wave energy company Seabased has unveiled plans to build a 10MW wave power park at Audierne Bay, located in the French region of Brittany.

In the race to commercialize wave energy, the Brittany region in France may plant a flag as home to Europe’s first utility scale commercial wave energy park.

Namely, with the support of the region, Seabased plans to build a utility-scale wave energy park that will be connected to the French grid, starting with a 2MW pilot that will later be scaled up to 10MW.

Loïg Chesnais-Girard, president of the Regional Council of Brittany, said: “The Region of Brittany is pleased to support this particularly innovative commercial project which will contribute to the production of competitive renewable energy along the coast of Brittany”.

For Seabased, the opportunity to install its soon-to-be-unveiled commercial system in Audierne bay is said to be ideal. Seabased is already working with Brittany-based ENAG, a company that specializes in energy conversion, which has built the electrical system for Seabased’s technology - link