Eitzen Gruppen has moved its maritime electrification business into Zen and ordered two 900-TEU all-electric containerships for services between Hamburg, Gothenburg and Oslo, according to Oslo Havn KF.
Zen has signed a contract with Zhejiang Dongpeng Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, with the first vessel due for delivery in 24 months and the second three months later.
The ships will carry battery packs of more than 100 MWh, have a range of 500 to 600 nautical miles and form the basis for electric freight corridors linking ports in northern Europe.
“We believe maritime transport is entering a period of structural change. Electrification is no longer a future concept. It is becoming commercially viable today on selected trade routes. Zen has been established to lead this transition and to build the infrastructure required to scale electric shipping,” said Fridtjof C. Eitzen, co-founder and chief executive of Zen.
Zen said the batteries will be produced at its factory in Tønsberg. The company said the units are waterproof, can withstand permanent submersion and have twice the volumetric energy density of comparable solutions.
Oslo Havn will move ahead with a high-voltage charging installation for containerships at Sjursøya. The system will operate at 6.6 kV and have capacity of 7.5 MVA.
The investment follows Enova’s June 2025 award of NOK 200m ($21.1m) to Eitzen Gruppen for the two battery-driven containerships. Oslo Havn received NOK 20.6m ($2.2m) in the same funding round for a high-voltage shore-power system for battery-electric containerships at Yilport Oslo.
“Electric shipping is where the story begins. The long-term opportunity lies in rebuilding maritime trade around a simpler, cleaner and more intelligent operating system,” Eitzen said.
Eitzen Gruppen is a Norwegian maritime group with more than 140 years of activity in shipping, logistics and maritime industrial operations.
Zen AS is a Norwegian maritime infrastructure company developing electric vessels, marine battery systems, charging infrastructure, fleet-management systems and autonomous operations.
Zhejiang Dongpeng Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd is a Chinese shipbuilding and repair company contracted by Zen for the two containerships.