A NEW charging point for electric harbour craft at Marina South Pier is now available for public use, after its official launch by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Monday (Apr 8).

The charging point is owned by Pyxis Energy, a subsidiary of electric vessel startup Pyxis Maritime, and operated by SP Mobility. 

While open to the public, it will be used mostly by Pyxis’ planned fleet of electric harbour craft, with the pilot expected to run for two years after full operations begin this May.

Singapore’s first electric harbour craft charging point started running in April 2023, but is solely for use by Shell’s ferry service to Pulau Bukom for its personnel.

The Pyxis-SP project is one of three charging projects selected in MPA’s call for proposal in August 2023 to develop, operate and maintain electric harbour craft charging points as part of Singapore’s efforts to reduce emissions in the maritime sector.

Harbour craft are vessels that only travel within Singapore’s waters. They include smaller vessels such as ferries and those that carry cargo and supplies to larger ships.

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The other two proposals are a high-power direct current charger by Yinson Electric and a mobile charging concept by Seatrium, both of which are still in development.

The Pyxis-SP partnership has deployed a single 150 kilowatt direct-current fast charger at Marina South Pier.

It is the same technology used in SP Group’s electric vehicle charging stations, with technical improvements for maritime application. Charging and payment are managed through SP’s app.

While the charging point can be used by any electric harbour craft, the pilot project will mainly involve the Pyxis One for a start.

Built by Pyxis Maritime, the Pyxis One will ferry crew to and from ships anchored in Singapore’s waters. It has a capacity of up to 12 passengers and is expected to make six to eight trips a day.

The Pyxis One can be fully charged in two to three hours. Compared to a similar conventional vessel, its use can save up to 480 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions per day.

Currently, the company operates a single Pyxis One. It plans to expand this to 13 vessels over the next two years, said chief executive Tommy Phun.

MPA said that data insights from the pilot will contribute to the development of a national electric harbour craft charging infrastructure master plan, implementation plan, and national standards for harbour craft charging infrastructure.

This is part of Singapore’s efforts to reduce the carbon emissions of its maritime sector, alongside the use of alternative fuels such as methanol.

There are currently around 1,600 harbour craft stationed in Singapore, six of which are electric.

MPA chief executive Teo Eng Dih said he expects the number of fully electric vessels here to be in the “tens” in the near term, predicting the figure will grow quickly when the cost of adoption comes down and the industry is supported with financing.

MPA has launched various expressions of interest over the last year for proposals for both electric harbour craft designs and financing and insurance solutions.

It will require all new harbour craft to be fully electric, be capable of using B100 biofuel, or compatible with net-zero fuels from 2030.