THE MARITIME and Port Authority of Singapore has launched its first trial of an electric harbour-craft charging point.
The pilot trial at the Marina South Pier follows a call last year for proposals to develop and operate electric harbour-craft charging points, as part of a move toward the adoption of electric harbour craft at the port.
MPA narrowed it down to three pilot schemes in January this year, to trial concepts at various locations throughout the port.
The Marina South Pier charging point trial, launched on Monday (8 April), was awarded to the Pyxis Energy, Pyxis Maritime and SP Mobility Pte partnership.
A fleet of electric harbour craft operating at Marina South Pier during the trial would serve as the base offtake to ensure charging infrastructure is optimised.
MPA plans to collect data from the trial to inform the development of a national electric harbour-craft charging infrastructure plan and national standards for the infrastructure.
“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,” MPA assistant chief executive (operations) Captain M Segar said.
Pyxis founder Tommy Phun said the trial would begin with XTron, the inaugural vessel from Pyxis’ flagship product line Pyxis One – a series of electric vessels.
“Tailored specifically for the dynamic Singapore port market, the Pyxis One seamlessly shuttles passengers between mainland Singapore and ships stationed at the anchorage,” Mr Phun said.
“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.”
Under this pilot, the Pyxis and SP Mobility partnership has deployed a 150-kilowatt land-based Direct Current fast charger with a Combined Charging System 2 connector at Marina South Pier.
In addition to the Pyxis and SP Mobility partnership, MPA has also awarded an innovative mobile charging concept proposed by Seatrium O&G (International), and a high-power DC Charger proposed by Yinson Electric.
MPA will continue to work with the two companies to further develop their proposals for applications in Singapore.
