Norway’s Eitzen Group has set out to build battery-powered containerships that could potentially become the world’s largest of their kind.

Axel Eitzen’s company Eitzen Avanti, which oversees a network that includes Christiania Shipping, which specialises in chemical tankers and also operates LPG vessels, as well as all-electric shipping player Eitzen Electric, has secured NOK200m ($19m) from Enova, Norway’s state-owned enterprise promoting green energy solutions, for a pair of 850 teu newbuilds.

The vessels will have battery packs of over 100 MWh and are earmarked to ship containers between Norway, Sweden and Germany.

“These projects show in their own way what is possible with battery electrification in shipping. The technology is now mature and the projects exist,” said Andreas Jahn, senior advisor within maritime transport at Enova, adding: “If electrification of car ferries was the first wave, we hope that this will be the start of the second wave of electrification in short sea shipping.”

The world’s largest battery-powered boxship currently in operation is Greenwater 01, developed by COSCO. The 700 teu fully electric vessel, with a battery capacity of 50,000 kWh and expandable up to 80,000 kWh, entered service in April 2024, operating between Shanghai and Nanjing along the Yangtze River.

In May 2024, Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co (NBOSCO) also joined the trend, ordering two 740 teu battery-electric feeders for coastal operations in China, scheduled for delivery in 2026.

Additional project details, potential shipyard of choice and delivery dates regarding Eitzen’s newbuilds have yet to be disclosed.