On January 28, NYK and PowerX, Inc. (Power X) agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly study the possibility of collaboration on development of marine batteries for ships, in addition to trial navigation and promotion of a power-transfer vessel, according to NYK's release.
To realize a decarbonized society, the need for zero-emission ships and ship electrification is rapidly increasing worldwide.
In Japan, a new law intended to facilitate the development of offshore wind projects off Japan became effective in April 2019, and demand within the offshore wind-power generation market is expected to expand.
In response, NYK will study the potential to collaborate with Power X, which develops new businesses utilizing large-capacity batteries and power-transmission technologies. Power X also aims to build and promote a power-transfer ship, or “Power ARK,” to deliver electricity generated offshore to shore. NYK will promote efforts for the development of marine batteries and ship electrification, in addition to power transfer vessels, by combining Power X’s innovative ideas and business acumen together with the NYK Group’s expertise and technologies in the global shipping industry.
In addition, NYK will accumulate expertise and know-how on manpower savings through ship electrification and make use of that knowledge in the future development of its manned autonomous ships. NYK is also setting its sights on addressing the issue of a decrease in the number of seafarers, which is expected to affect future domestic coastal shipping around Japan.
On February 3, 2021, NYK released the “NYK Group ESG Story,” which aims to further integrate ESG into the company’s management strategy and promotes activities that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) through business activities. To strongly promote ESG management, the NYK Group will take initiatives to contribute to the realization of zero-emission ships and promote offshore wind-power generation, thus encouraging new value creation as a sustainable solution provider.