Who approved what
Hanwha Power has received approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping for its design of a 1,700 TEU containership powered by batteries, the company said. The certificate was presented on 22 October at the Maritime Hybrid, Electric & Hydrogen Fuel Cells Conference & Exhibition 2026 in Bergen, Norway, an event that runs from 21 to 23 October at the Scandic Hotel Bergen City. Jong-kyu Hwang, vice president of technology solutions at Hanwha Power, attended the ceremony with senior representatives of ABS.
151 MWh on board
The approved concept stores 151 MWh in an energy storage system built from containerized battery units, and that stored electricity serves as the vessel's primary propulsion source. According to the company, the ship can run without direct carbon emissions by charging at port infrastructure. Because the battery units can be handled and stowed in the way standard cargo containers are, the company said the arrangement makes better use of space, raises the cargo a vessel can carry and improves its overall performance, while also allowing batteries to be replaced and capacity to be scaled. It described the approach as a practical route to cutting emissions in short-sea and regional container transport.
A smaller design and the target market
Hanwha Power said the approval extends its work on fully electric vessel design using large-scale battery storage and broadens its portfolio of marine propulsion solutions, and that it intends to use it to go after business in zero-carbon maritime transport. The company also said it has completed the basic design of a 1,000 TEU battery-powered container vessel, and that it aims to develop a lineup of electric-propulsion ships suited to different operating conditions and customer requirements.
What the executive said
Hwang said the approval was an important step in taking Hanwha Power's marine technology into fully electric vessels driven by large-scale battery systems. He said the company would serve the next-generation zero-carbon maritime transport market with combined solutions that pair electric propulsion with containerized battery technology.
