MARYSVILLE—Leading Swedish provider of maritime battery systems, Echandia, opens its first US-based production facility in Marysville, adding over two dozen living-wage jobs to the region’s expanding Cascade Industrial Center (CIC)—a 4,000-acre manufacturing and industrial zoned land approved by the state legislature to attract businesses to the cities of Marysville and Arlington.

“I would really like to thank Washington state and the Governor for all of the support we are getting, and I think we will have a really great future together at expanding our business in North America and expanding electrification for the maritime world,” said Fredrik Hellström, Chief Executive Officer of Echandia.

Swedish for “big house,” Echandia, headquartered in Solna, Sweden, was originally founded in 2018 to meet the electrification for naval submarines. It is now a leading provider of green solutions to the maritime industry for reducing fossil fuel emissions in the global shipping industry: “making our collective place [Earth]—our big house—a little bit better every day,” its website says.

The 20,000-square foot facility in Marysville will be home to the Echandia’s “safest and most advanced heavy-duty” LTO battery production facility. Its rechargeable lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) battery charges faster than other lithium-ion batteries in the industry. This is possible by utilizing the lithium-titanate nanocrystals in its battery design, that provides at least 30x more surface area for charging on the anode than its carbon alternative.

Besides providing zero-emission for maritime uses such as ferries, Echandia’s battery systems is certified for “rigorous maritime use,” says its CEO.

“We build a battery system for heavy duty applications where you have lots of requirements for charging and discharging per day—up to 25 times a day—and still have a lifetime of 10 to 15 years,” Hellström told the Lynnwood Times.

Hellstrom informed the Lynnwood Times that a typical ferry would require between 1 Mega-Watt hours to 4 Mega-Watt hours to operate daily. An LTO rack contains up to 30 battery modules with total capacity of approximately 50 kWh. Because Echandia’s battery system design can be “rightsized” making it scalable for design needs, this would equate to a typical ferry on Washington’s waters requiring anywhere from 20 to 80 LTO racks to operate depending on the route.

“It is safer to go with a maritime vessel than it is with your EV,” Hellström replied when asked about what he would say to those who are hesitant to ride a ferry with an electric battery.

With its 21 auto-passenger ferries across 10 routes serving 19 terminals, Washington State Ferries (WSF) is the country’s largest. As the state’s top government agency greenhouse contributor—19 million gallons of diesel annually—WSF launched an audacious goal to be emission-free by 2050. To achieve this, the agency must convert six existing vessels to hybrid-electric power, build 16 new hybrid-electric vessels and add shore charging to 16 terminals with an estimated cost of $3.98 billion.

Currently, $1.68 billion of the $3.98 billion price tag for electrification is funded according to WSDOT—$1.03 billion from Move Ahead Washington and $599 million from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). Governor Jay Inslee shared with the Lynnwood Times the importance of Climate Commitment Act dollars to a cleaner and greener Washington ferry system.

“We need new ferry boats desperately and the CCA is where the money is coming from to build the next five ferry boats,” Governor Inslee told the Lynnwood Times. “So, if you want ferry boats, we have to have the Climate Commitment Act, it is the only revenue source we have.”

On May 30, WSF initiated requests for bid to shipyards for construction of five new hybrid-electric, 160-automotive-capacity ferries after the Legislature, in 2023, directed the agency to build the boats. In July, WSF contracted with Swiss-based marine electrification experts ABB to select and integrate the technology to power the new vessels, from the engine and batteries to the propellers. ABB will also design a complete propulsion system, oversee the timely delivery of equipment, and offer expertise in equipment installation and commissioning.

Recently, gubernatorial candidates—Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Senator Mark Mullet, former Congressman Dave Reichert and former School Board District Director Semi Bird—have called on Governor Inslee to forego hybrid-electric for diesel-powered vessels citing time and/or cost constraints.

“The state has been running this procurement [for electric ferries] for months and is deep within the procurement with us and the shipyard selection process,” Drew Orvieto, Vice president of sales for Marine Systems, ABB U.S. office told the Lynnwood Times. “So, I think it would be a mistake to turn back now; it would delay the program significantly. I don’t think you would get diesel boats any faster. It will set us back multiple years to get a new diesel design; whereas we have a really pretty cutting-edge design on the hybrid side.”

Analysis from WSF shows that changing course would delay a new boat by two years.

Orvieto shared that the current hybrid-electric design is “mature,” and that formal bidding is to begin later this year with contracts scheduled to be awarded in early 2025.

According to Matt von Ruden, WSF system electrification program administrator, the first two hybrid ferries are scheduled to begin construction in 2026 with an estimated completion in 2028.

Echandia: ‘A chance encounter’

On a trip to Australia in 2023 to bring new investment to Washington state, Governor Inslee made a stop in Tasmania to look at innovative new electrification systems. The island state since 2020 has been able to meet all its electricity needs with renewable energy.

There, Inslee had “a chance encounter,” with a representative from Echandia where they began the journey that led to the opening of the company’s new LTO facility in Marysville.

“Sometimes a chance needs a really good vision and a state that is welcoming a high-tech future in entrepreneurship,” Inslee said during his speech to attendees.

Inslee shared with the Lynnwood Times that, “Companies want to locate in states that get it when it comes to the future, and I think they [Echandia] saw a state that really gets it.”

Echandia is one of ABB’s approved suppliers and is one of two suppliers being considered for powering the new hybrid-electric ferries; the other being Corvus Energy located in Bellingham.

Echandia is the second maritime-battery firm to start production in Washington, after Norwegian-owned Corvus Energy opened at the Port of Bellingham in January of 2023, following a growing trend of renewable energy companies setting up shop in the Evergreen state.

The Evergreen state is now home to electric plane manufacturer ZeroAvia, electric powertrain manufacturer MagniX, electric truck and bus manufacturer Vicinity Motor Corp, two leading battery manufacturing companies Sila and Group14 in Moses Lake, and Silfab Solar which is North America’s leading solar panel manufacturer.

To top it off, the world’s first 100% hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial ferry called “Sea Change” that started operation in July of this year in the San Francisco Bay, was built by All American Marine in Bellingham.

Echandia’s Big Announcement

Captain Jim Bandy, Director of Business Development for McKay, during Tuesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, announced that Golden Gate Ferry, operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in San Francisco will be using Echandia batteries for its new boats.

Bandy shared with the Lynnwood Times that although the initial cost to build an electric-powered boat is higher, the long-term reduction in maintenance cost will pay for itself.

“The boat in New Zealand for two years has been running with almost no maintenance…the actual drive system, there is nothing,” Captain Bandy said. “You plug it in, it charges, unplug it, and you run your trips.”

He shared that the primary challenge in the U.S. has been the lack of charging infrastructure. To get around this, clients are building battery barges or battery banks at the dock so while the boat is away, batteries can be charged then swapped out when needed.  

Monique Moyer, Board Vice Chair of the San Francisco Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), also shared that its five new electric-powered ferries will be powered by Echandia batteries. She was joined by fellow board member Jeff Delbono. The primary reason her Board went with Echandia was the reliability and long lifespan of its batteries.

Why the Cascade Industrial Center?

Companies in this economic zone in North County pay no state, county, or city property tax on new construction or improvements for 10 years. However, the eligibility criteria are:

• The building and/or improvements must be at least 10,000 square feet with a minimum value of $800,000
• The company must create at least 25 new full-time jobs paying at least $23/hour
• The use must fall within SIC Division D Manufacturing as defined by U.S. Department of Labor

“This has been several decades in planning,” Mayor Nehring told the Lynnwood Times. “In the last five to six years we have put a lot into this, and it is fun to see all of the businesses coming in.”

Amazon, Frito Lay, Coca Cola, Gravitics and Blue Origin are a few major companies in the CIC. On January 16, 2024, the Washington State Department of Commerce presented the Governor’s Smart Communities Award to the City of Marysville for more than 25 years of planning that led to the creation of the Cascade Industrial Center. 

Representative Mary Fosse (D-Everett) shared with the Lynnwood Times her role in making the CIC a reality for North County when she was working as staff in the state legislature several years ago.

“This is like full circle,” Representative Fosse said with excitement. “This is a passion area of mine when it comes to looking how we are attracting businesses to come to Washington state.”

This economic corridor in North County currently supports approximately 12,000 jobs, 45% of which are directly in manufacturing. The zoned land is anticipated to sustain 25,000 jobs in total by 2040, strengthening the local economy.

The CIC has newly built multi-modal transportation access: freeway and major highways, BNSF main line and spur tracks. The Arlington municipal airport is within its boundary and the Seattle-Paine Field International airport is 15 miles away. Also, the Port of Everett international deep-water seaport is within minutes of the CIC.

Harry Birak, Business Development Manager with the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness, shared with the Lynnwood Times that Washington’s climate commitment policies is what is attracting innovative companies to the state. Since 2021 he has been recruiting, retaining and expanding Washington’s green energy industry.

“I have always wanted to drive the clean energy technologies and clean energies industry because it is the biggest impact I can make in my life to decarbonizing the economy and making a better world for my son, so he can enjoy the natural beauty as it is and hopefully his children and his children’s children will have that same luxury,” Birak said. “I don’t want this to be a one generational issue.”