MARYSVILLE—Maritime electrification company Echandia is set to begin full-fledged manufacturing in Marysville, under the Build America Buy America Act and Federal Transportation Authority (FTA) standards, by Q3 of this year.
Echandia was founded by Magnus Eriksson in 2018. Erikkson had worked in the battery industry for quite some time prior, always on the search of something better, safer, and more robust.
Trevor Small, Director of North American Sales, first met Erikkson while working for Corvus Energy. He recalled Erikkson was “never satisfied” with the products he was selling at the time so went out and decided to do it himself – hence the birth of Echandia, named after the Basque expression “etxe handia,” which means “big house.”
The decision to get into maritime batteries and not, say, electric cars, for example, stems from Magnus’ time spent as a Submariner for the Swedish Navy.
Prior to joining Echandia, Small sold lithium-ion batteries, similar to what Echandia sells now, but using a different chemistry called NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) which stores a lot of energy making them more volatile and susceptible to thermal runaways and fires, he said. NMC batteries are also limited to the number of cycles (or times energy can be put in and pulled out).
“You have to keep them in a controlled environment, like 20 degrees C, and only use a certain portion of the battery,” explained Small. “There’s a portion of the battery at the bottom you can’t use, and a portion at the top you can’t use – it’s called usable energy. So you’re only using about 60% of the energy, and gingerly, I might add.”
Echandia’s batteries use a chemistry called LTO – lithium, titanate, oxide which utilize much more energy in addition to being able to fast-charge, where, in a ferry dock situation becomes a shortcoming – needing to quickly charge a ferry in about 15-minutes while cars disembark, preparing for its next trip out.
In Echandia’s system, 24 cells are in each module. All modules are connected to build up to 1,500 volts – depending on the power needed. A tugboat, for example, is less worried about getting to point A to point B, it’s more focused on the power to tug, where a Washington State ferry would require a lot more energy (or battery capacity) to make a complete trip.
These systems can also be used for blackout prevention, like in the case of a cruise ship where a generator might fail. They can also be used in a process called “peak shaving” where excess energy is stored to be used later. It’s also compatible with a hybrid system, using a mixture of battery energy as well as diesel fuel.
As far as how long a charge lasts, that depends on the system, said Small, but Echandia’s batteries charge or discharge at 3C, he explained, taking in or out all of the energy in the batteries in about 20-minutes. LTO’s systems have the most cycles of any of the lithium-ion battery chemistries, Small added.
When Echandia placed a bid to power the Washington State Ferry system, the Echandia system offered 84,500 cycles over 15 years. Most of Echandia’s competitors were struggling to make a battery that would last five to seven years, based on their respective chemistries. So, while Echandia’s installed battery cost is higher, they last three times longer. Also, taking into consideration the maintenance involved with a ferry boat – taking it out of the water, drydocking it, and removing large containers of batteries limiting that boat’s trips – it ends up being much more efficient, Echandia said.
Echandia is currently looking at some low-cost solutions, but it would not use the LTO chemistry, Small said.
What also sets LTO batteries apart from its competition is once they meet their end, as far as a ferry project goes, they can still be used for a project or vessel with lower energy demands, while most of the batteries on the market need to be recycled.
Echandia was not selected to electrify the Washington State Ferry system which Small chalks up to being “too young” of a company, having just set up shop in Marysville. However, that project has since been paused by Gov. Ferguson, given budget restraints, so they may still have another shot in the future.
“We went through and had a very compelling commercial argument, and a very compelling technical argument,” said Small. “A lot of people believed we were the best technical and economic solution. We missed out on that one, it’s since been paused, but there’s still a lot of ferries in Washington we will work towards electrifying.”
Even without missing out on the Washington State Ferry project, Echandia still has its work cut out for it, currently working on electrifying San Francisco Bay with charging floats that can charge ferries off-shore.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
2 Responses
I am interested in future viability of small personal vessels powered via battery rather than fossil fuels. Also intrigued by future possibility of electric ferries in Puget Sound. We use ferries multiple boardings/week.
Hi Ella, this is Barb from Echandia! Every vessel that is electrified helps, and we have already done 100+ electrification projects globally. We are also excited to be more and more involved in the future electrification of ferries in the area. The benefits are many, and hopefully future generations will have safer, quieter and more efficient ferry trips.