The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has launched the first pilot trial for electric harbour craft (e-HC) charging point at the Marina South Pier this week.
This pilot trial follows an earlier call for proposals to develop and operate e-HC charging points at various locations under a two-year pilot scheme. The charging point at Marina South Pier (MSP) was awarded to the partnership of Pyxis Energy, Pyxis Maritime, and SP Mobility.
According to an April 8 joint media release: “Pyxis’s fleet of e-HCs operating at MSP will serve as the base offtake to ensure optimisation of the charging infrastructure and enable comprehensive data to be gathered. Insights from the data collected will contribute towards the development of a national e-HC charging infrastructure masterplan, implementation plan, and national standards for e-HC charging infrastructure.”
Under this pilot, the Pyxis-SP Mobility partnership has deployed a 150-kilowatt (kW) land-based Direct Current fast charger with a Combined Charging System 2 connector at Marina South Pier. This charger can charge an e-HC with an approximate battery capacity of 500 kWh in around 3 hours and enable an operating range of about 50 nautical miles, or about 90 km.
Users of the e-HC charger will need to scan a QR code using the SP app and make the payment via the app, similar to users of electric vehicles.
MPA is working with Enterprise Singapore, industry stakeholders and academia to develop a Technical Reference (TR) for e-HC charging and battery swap system. The draft TR will be ready for public consultation by mid-April 2024.
Captain M Segar, MPA Assistant Chief Executive (Operations), said, “Public-private partnership is key to promote wider adoption of e-HC in Singapore, including working together to improve the e-HC vessel and battery designs, support development of the technical standard, lower financing barriers, and building the charging infrastructure to give confidence to users and encourage wider adoption.”
Tommy Phun, Founder of Pyxis, said, “We are delighted to announce the commencement of charging operations at Marina South Pier for the X Tron, the inaugural vessel from Pyxis’ flagship product line, the Pyxis One series of electric vessels.”
He said, “Tailored specifically for the dynamic Singapore port market, the Pyxis One seamlessly shuttles passengers between mainland Singapore and ships stationed at the anchorage. With a purpose-built aluminium catamaran hull, an efficient electric propulsion chain, and an IoT-enabled digital ecosystem platform, the Pyxis One pushes the boundaries of innovation and brings significant productivity gains compared to traditional diesel vessels.
“In addition to our electric harbour craft meeting Singapore’s 2030 and 2050 targets early, there is also expected total ownership cost savings compared to our traditional vessels.”
Dean Cher, Head (Mobility), Sustainable Energy Solutions, SP Group, said, “We are committed to leading the decarbonisation of the transport sector, from land to sea, cars to harbour craft. This very first public marine charging point at Marina South Pier is a small but important step in providing the marine industry with decarbonisation options and our partnership with Pyxis will lead the way to wider e-HC adoption in Singapore.”