Coastal cities and regions rely on marine vessels to ensure safe and timely transport of people within their public transportation networks. Local emissions of particulate matter and noise pollution are of increasing concern for growing cities. The UN forecasts the percentage of people living in cities will rise from 54 percent in 2014 to 66 percent in 2050 [1] when global population is forecast to reach 9.7 billion. Hence, the infrastructure built today will have to serve the growing communities of tomorrow.

Li-ion battery systems within electric and hybrid-electric marine vessels offer a low cost to greatly reduce local and global emissions of particulate matter and harmful gases within vessels which are traditionally powered by combustion of fossil fuels. In this work, design considerations of Li-ion batteries within marine vessels are presented, including cathode/anode requirements, safety, and thermal management considerations. Use of a thermal, electric, aging model is implemented for a first assessment of the dimensioning of a Li-ion battery system within a marine vessel, with a specific focus on the choice of lithium titanate as anode versus the conventional graphitic anode.

1. World Population Prospects, 2014, United Nations.