World’s First Successful Vessel-to-Grid

May 30, 2024, may have felt like an average day — perhaps a day that you don’t recall. But for vessel owners and Nova Scotia’s electricity industry, May 30 marked a major technological development: the world’s first successful demonstration of a high-power vessel-to-grid.

Announced by front runner in grid-integration intelligence for electric vessels, BlueGrid, a global pioneer in high-output electric motor systems Evoy, and aluminum boat manufacturer ABCO, the vessel-to-grid (V2G) technology allows bi-directional power transfer between electric vessel batteries and electricity grids, thus encompassing two main benefits.

First, electric vessels offer a cost-effective way to bridge gaps in wind and solar electricity generation by providing grid support during peak demands periods when plugged in. Second, vessel owners can have a new vessel-to-grid revenue stream to reduce their cost of ownership, incentivizing sustainable practices.

“We’re solving the intelligence and data interaction of electric boats and electricity grids to improve outcomes for both the vessel operators, the utilities and everybody in between,” says CEO of BlueGrid, Trevor Hennigar, P.Eng.

BlueGrid saw the potential for the marine sector to transition to more environmentally friendly operations through data intelligence about three years ago. The company’s 13-person small-but-mighty team has focused on effectively implementing a solution to integrate electric boats into electricity grids, hence V2G.

“We wake up every day working hard to advance this mission and solve some real engineering challenges that create better outcomes,” says Hennigar.

ABCO, an engineered metal goods provider, has been all aboard the ocean-friendly train — in this case, the fully welded aluminum electric vessel. The Lunenburg-based company’s value has materialized through structural expertise; ABCO has intelligently assembled a boat with cutting-edge grid capability.

According to Jason Huskilson, P.Eng., CEO of ABCO, significant engineering was involved in the manufacturing. Producing a fully electric boat is not a readily available off-the-shelf solution — it’s artful and detail-oriented work.

Huskilson is motivated by stewardship, which is arguably an emerging identity marker for Nova Scotia’s technology industry. As we face pressing ecological challenges, it’s hard to separate the terms “innovation” and “sustainable.”

In fact, Halifax was ranked 4th out of North American cities by the 2023 CRBE Scoring Tech Talent report for its growth potential in the technology sector. Innovators like Huskilson and Dr. Colin Ross, Head of Research and Development at ABCO, strive to uphold this growth.

“For a long time, marine communities like Nova Scotia have used the ocean to pull from, to use, to consume,” says Huskilson. “But now we’ve positioned ourselves to blend the ocean as a resource with monetizing its protection through things like data collection.”

“ABCO’s history in the commercial boatbuilding sector has allowed us to bring a unique perspective to the project, engaging with the propulsion system designers and charging infrastructure providers to ensure the technology is ready for use,” Ross adds.

The technical demonstration would not have been possible without the trifold collaboration of ABCO and Evoy’s hardware, BlueGrid’s software and the grid itself, which is tied to stakeholder Nova Scotia Power.

As a crucial puzzle piece, Evoy CEO Leif Stavøstrand, acknowledges the commercial and regulatory hurdles bound to new technologies. A system must be a usable asset for all parties involved to be widely implemented, and V2G is this case in point.

“We strongly believe that V2G will be important for the renewable energy focus and deployment, says Stavøstrand. “Virtual power plants and vessel-togrid will be essential for both utilities and end-users seeking to lower energy cost and balancing the grid.”

The “world’s first successful demonstration” of V2G is as substantial as it sounds. As far as online reports go, BlueGrid’s announcement is the sole instance in which power has been moved from a boat’s battery through a charger and onto a grid for dispatchment.

Hennigar fondly speaks on the project’s personal significance to him, and its potential for up-and-coming engineering talent.

“When I went into school there was a big opportunity to build a career in the renewable energy space — when turbines and different things were new and innovative to the region,” he says.

“I think we have a similar opportunity in this space around decarbonizing the marine sectors and young engineers playing a really key role.”