TOKYO—Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) today announced the launching of the hybrid car carrier Emerald Ace at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; President: Hideaki Omiya), Kobe shipyard. The Emerald Ace, designed to generate zero emissions while berthed, was designated as a project to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels, and earned MOL a subsidy from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in 2009.

The Emerald Ace, slated for delivery in June 2012, will be the world’s first newly delivered hybrid car carrier and begin test operations of its hybrid power system. The vessel’s hybrid system represents a significant step forward in realizing ISHIN-I, the concept for the next-generation car carrier that MOL announced in September 2009.

The Emerald Ace will be equipped with a hybrid electric power supply system that combines a 160kW solar generation system—jointly developed by MHI, Energy Company of Panasonic Group* (President: Masato Ito), and MOL—with lithium-ion batteries that can store some 2.2MWh of electricity. Conventional power generation systems use diesel-powered generators to supply electricity on board while berthed. However, on the Emerald Ace, electricity will be generated by the solar power generation system while the vessel is under way and stored in the lithium-ion batteries. The diesel-powered generator will be completely shut down when the ship is in berth, and the batteries will provide all the electricity it needs, resulting in zero emissions at the pier.

The “Solar Hybrid” logo is painted on the sides of the vessel near the stern to identify its hybrid system and its use of renewable energy.

[Vessel Specifications]
Name: Emerald Ace
Capacity: 6,400 vehicles (standard passenger cars)
LOA: 199.00m
Beam: 32.26m
Draft: 9.725m

The development of this vessel was subsidized by the MLIT as a project that develops systems to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels, and it is supported as a cooperative development project to reduce greenhouse gases produced by ocean shipping from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.

MOL continually takes a proactive stance in technological development with the aim of reducing the environmental burden of its vessels and operations.

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MOL is one of the world’s largest multi-modal transport companies, operating 861 vessels and employing a workforce in excess of 9,200 worldwide. MOL operates one of the largest and most diverse networks of liner and logistics services around the globe, including weekly Transpacific, Transatlantic, Americas and Asia-Europe services. Please visit the company’s website at www.MOLpower.com.

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This release was published on openPR.