eCap Marine Supplies Electric and Hybrid Marine Propulsion Systems

[By: eCap Marine]

There is a growing need for emission-reducing energy technology on board ships. To best meet this  demand, the maritime business of eCap Mobility and Hybrid Port Energy were merged at the  beginning of the year under the new name eCap Marine. 

Combining competencies and being present in the maritime market with a single brand is how Hybrid Port  Energy (HPE), a subsidiary of Hamburg-based ship supplier Becker Marine Systems, and the maritime  division of eCap Mobility, a leading provider of electromobility solutions, are responding to the challenge of  making the shipping industry more environmentally friendly. 

Since January 1, 2021, the merger of the two divisions under the new name eCap Marine at the company’s  headquarters in Winsen (Luhe) has been offering a diverse range of technological solutions for the use  of environmentally-friendly sources of energy in the four business areas of professional shipping, leisure  shipping, port technology, and energy technology. They include LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.  “With our many years of expertise, we can now join forces to respond to the needs that the shipping  industry will have on this front in the future”, says Lars Ravens, Managing Director of eCap Marine. 

“Due to the increasing demand for emission-reducing technology, we decided to provide system supplies  under the well-known “eCap‘” brand, since we have been successful with this as a retrofitter for quite some  time”, says Ravens. To date, eCap Mobility, founded by Dirk Lehmann, has been involved in the electrification  of vehicles for six years, while HPE, a subsidiary of Becker Marine Systems and also managed by Lehmann,  has been driving the development of environmentally-friendly power generation with the Becker PowerPac  and the Becker Power Barge. 

eCap Marine now offers these climate-friendly technologies and concepts for professional shipping as well  as for the leisure sector. The focus is on fuel cells in combination with batteries. Becker PowerPacs can also  be equipped with “Compact Battery Rack” (COBRA) systems from Becker Marine Systems, which are based on environmentally-friendly Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP) technology. Since the technology in the leisure  sector does not have to meet the high certification requirements of commercial shipping, these products can  be offered at a lower price, while still fulfilling all safety requirements. 

Small and medium-sized coastal, inland waterway and harbour vessels are converted by eCap Marine or  supported in a newbuildling. Privately-owned boats and yachts can also be retrofitted for hybridization. The  company is available to shipyards as a reliable system partner. “We can supply entire engines with control  electronics, plus power technology and even fuel cells along with tank technology with all of this including  maintenance, servicing and repair of the components”, says Ravens. Hazardous emissions, such as sulphur  dioxide, fine dust and nitrogen oxides, which otherwise occur during operation of a ship, can thus be avoided  or significantly reduced. 

eCap Marine is currently actively involved in retrofitting fuel cells and hybridizing ships. One project is  expected to be completed in the first quarter of the year, and another project by the summer. In both cases,  the aim is to convert the propulsion of ships already in service in coastal and inland waterways to hydrogen battery hybrids. The federal government and the EU currently provide financial support for such projects in  inland shipping as well as in port and coastal shipping. 

In addition, eCap Marine is committed to establishing the supply of mobile shore power at German and  European ports. “This project is currently developing in a favourable way in many places, often only awaiting  a decision from local government to allow the port to invest in this area”, says Ravens.