A consortium led by UK sustainability consultancy Urban Foresight has won funding from Innovate UK to lead a study called CoastalCoRRE, which will explore the concept of modular, floating electric boat charging hubs.

The idea is that the portable charging hubs could help overcome the physical, electrical and environmental constraints of remote coastal locations, where access to reliable charging remains a barrier to the adoption of electric and hybrid vessels.

The study will focus on how this system could be deployed along green maritime corridors in the Orkney Islands, where fishing and marine tourism vessels often operate in areas with limited access to electrical infrastructure. The study participants hope to develop a full-scale demonstrator by 2028.

The system will be capable of connecting to a variety of renewable energy generation technologies using power conversion technology provided by project partner Supply Design. Marine energy storage will be provided by a redox flow battery developed by Mhor Energy.

During the study, the floating charging platform will be simulated and tested at scale under real-world wave and tidal conditions in the University of Plymouth’s COAST Lab.

“CoastalCoRRE is about delivering practical, scalable solutions to accelerate the decarbonisation of our coastal fleets,” said Callum White, Head of Net Zero Mobility at Urban Foresight. “By bringing charging infrastructure to [the locations] where vessels operate, we can unlock the potential of electric propulsion in even the most remote parts of the UK.”

Source: Urban Foresight