Damen Shipyards Group has taken over the Skoonbox, the world’s first maritime-certified, multi-purpose battery container, from Skoon Energy. Damen will use the Skoonbox to deliver renewable power at its own yards for applications where diesel generators or ships’ engines are primarily used at present.
Damen operates 35 shipyards and 20 other businesses in 20 countries. The 20-foot battery container is the first step towards Damen’s sustainable battery network for mobile and temporary applications. In time, it can potentially also be deployed for customers worldwide.
The Skoonbox was unveiled by Skoon Energy during the 2018 World Port Days and major developments have been made since. The battery container contains 314 lithium batteries, good for 638 kWh of renewable energy. In recent years, the Skoonbox has been used for numerous applications in the Amsterdam Port Area. Putting the Skoonbox in a barge, for example, gave a floating battery that has supplied green power to a range of ships.
“The Skoonbox, and the clean energy systems coming in its wake, are opening up tremendous opportunities for us to reduce our ecological footprint and those of our customers,” explains Vincent de Maat of Damen Shipyards Group. “This is a sustainable replacement for diesel generators but it can also be used as a green form of shore power, allowing ships berthed at our repair yards to turn off their on-board engines. That saves a lot of emissions.”
Digital platform
“Our focus is on developing Skoon Sharing, the software platform that brings together both local and international supply and demand for mobile, sustainable energy solutions,” says Peter Paul van Voorst tot Voorst, the CEO and founder of Skoon Energy. “The Skoonbox experience has provided us with a tremendous amount of indispensable data and insights. As part of our long-term vision, our aim is not to be hardware owners. Our strength is the development of customer-friendly and commercially scalable software and AI. That is how we realise easy access to clean energy, wherever it may be.
Damen was one of the first supporters in this mission, joining our mission with investment, network and knowledge. This partnership is now ready for the next phase, global commercialisation!” Source: Damen
