AYK Energy Strikes Biggest Retrofit Deal with Wasaline Shipping Line
Marine battery maker AYK Energy is gearing up production after striking a deal to undertake the biggest ever battery retrofit on a vessel operated by Finnish shipping line Wasaline.
AYK will install a 10.4MWh battery on the hybrid-electric Ropax ferry, the Aurora Botnia, which operates a daily service between Finland and Sweden. Built in 2021, the Aurora Botnia presently operates on dual-fuel LNG/biomass engines and 2.2 MWh batteries. The upgrade to a battery system nearly five times more powerful is expected to reduce fossil energy use by around 10,000 MWh annually, cutting emissions by nearly a quarter each year.
AYK founder Chris Kruger confirmed the new AYK Pisces+ battery system will exceed the previous biggest retrofit on the Aida Prima cruise ship by about 500kWh.
Kruger added that the system is scheduled to be delivered and installed by the end of 2025 at Turku Repair Yard in Finland, enabling the Aurora Botnia to be operational again by January 2026. The batteries are Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), known for their safety and long lifespan compared to the more volatile Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) batteries.
The AYK battery systems will be built at AYK’s 5000 sqm automated manufacturing plant in in Zhuhai China which opened in 2023. The plant has a production capacity of 300MWH a year with the ability to expand to 1GWH.
The latest order comes as fast-growing AYK is seeing a surge in demand for its batteries across the maritime industry with the manufacturer supplying tugs, OSVs, superyachts, fishing vessels, work boats and even large container vessels as part of their power mix.
