Project Summary

Today, the vessels, docks, and ports operating on the Thames run mostly on fossil fuels, but this is changing as the river’s economy decarbonises. There is limited understanding how this shift will affect the electricity network.
Working together with stakeholders across marine and energy industry, we will map out the future of maritime transport in the central Thames area and explore the potential benefits of Boat to Grid (B2G) charging. The outcomes will shape a whole system planning framework for our waterways, offering insights for decarbonisation and electrification that can be replicated across Great Britain.

Innovation Justification

The project creates an innovative, integrated energy system and a business case which accounts for the impacts of decarbonising vessels, docks and quays.
Our approach is innovative as it is the first clean maritime planning framework that considers network requirements in parallel with the requirements of marine users, LAs and other key stakeholders. Alternative approaches to decarbonising waterways would involve significant build out of energy infrastructure at many exit points. Maritime, LA and DNO planning is usually conducted in isolation, potentially delaying decarbonisation. By working in isolation, marine users are unlikely to invest in assets that can enable clean operation, thus delaying the 2040 decarbonisation target for the Thames.

Our approach will demonstrate ambitious innovation through:
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Identifying the optimal route to decarbonise Thames traffic and operations through electrification and potential use of hydrogen.
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Investigating use of ‘floating batteries’, charging and discharging at different times and locations to manage network constraints.
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Exploring grid-scale batteries to offer flexible, high-speed charging for vessels to ensure resilient operation.
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Conducting a detailed engineering design of the vessel requirements and charging infrastructure needed for electrification and by-directional charging.
During Discovery, we worked closely with vessel operators, quay owners and the PLA to understand their needs and incorporate it into our approach. We learnt that:
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There is strong support among marine users for the project, particularly in B2G as this can potentially offset capital costs required for new infrastructure.
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The absence of a joined-up approach to electrification is seen as a key challenge.
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There are challenges associated with infrastructure development around the quays, as many sites are in protected areas of cultural significance.
At Alpha we seek to address these learnings by developing a detailed engineering design of the required infrastructure for bi-directional charging and the vessel requirements needed for electrification. In the current market, there are some examples of B2G charging for small vessels, this project will investigate the feasibility of bidirectional charging at the MegaWatt level. We will also develop closer working relationships with LAs to understand the barriers to infrastructure development around the quays, we will incorporate this into our implementation approach for a ‘Green Corridor’, see appendix A. And we will modify our business model to account for the needs of the key users we have identified, drawing on the expertise of the PLA and ev.energy.
Considerable investment, engagement and innovation is required to develop a solution to decarbonise Britain’s waterways in a secure and economic manner. This would not be achievable as part of BAU activity, due to the complexity and high-risk nature of whole system planning across multiple sectors. Participation in SIF will enhance opportunities for stakeholders across multiple sectors in engaging with the project. Significant groundwork, such as feasibility studies and limited scale trials, must be undertaken before any scalable or widespread deployment is carried out, which is suited to the structure of SIF phases.
The project addresses challenge theme 3 by investigating the infrastructural requirement and network impact of B2G flexibility services. Alpha includes conducting a detailed engineering design of the vessel requirements and the charging infrastructure needed to facilitate by-directional charging. The whole system planning approach will be dependent on the results of this study.
B2G technologies are IRL3 as there are some examples of bidirectional charging infrastructure for maritime and many for land-based use. However, none of these operate at the MegaWatt level that we wish to explore in Alpha.

At the start of discovery, we identified TRL3 and CRL4. Following our research, our thinking remains the same. Although, we anticipate that a trial at Beta would increase B2G to TRL7-8.

Impacts and Benefits

Pre-innovation baseline considers vessels, docks and quays extensively using fossil fuels and suboptimal electrification or transition to hydrogen of some operations. Our Discovery phase analysis estimates that 166 vessels will need to decarbonise to reach the PLA’s net zero targets. If these vessels install chargers in isolation and do not participate in flexibility markets, then the expected peak demand would be 226MW, based on Discovery estimations.
Our Discovery high level analysis estimates a peak demand of 140MW with B2G charging and managed hydrogen generation. The whole life NPV of our option is £94m. This and all benefits are the net present values, considered from 2025 to 2050.
Further benefits can be expected from providing shore power for cruise vessels and by optimal location of charging infrastructure to avoid particularly expensive locations. These benefits have not been assessed in Discovery but will be considered in Alpha.
Financial - future reductions in the cost of operating the network
Reducing peak demand from electrification of the Thames waterway through flexibility services will unlock network capacity. During peak demand periods, electric vessels can supply electricity to the distribution network, helping to balance the load.
Metric: £12m in reduced network reinforcement to accommodate additional peak capacity, assuming average reinforcement costs for London Power Networks. River-based peak capacity is conservatively estimated to be entirely additional to land-based peak capacity but there may be some overlap, reducing the reinforcement need. This is achieved by managing local hydrogen generation within the peak capacity of vessel charging peak demand.
Financial - cost savings per annum on energy bills for consumers
Lower costs of decarbonising the marine sector will reduce the network cost element of consumer bills for all consumers.
Metric: Annual customer bill savings
Environmental – carbon reduction – direct CO2 savings per annum

Optimising investment for decarbonisation of the Thames can enable a more efficient roll-out of low carbon river operations. This will displace the existing fossil fuel-based fleet, achieving an immediate reduction in direct CO2 emissions.
Metrics: Accelerating the decarbonisation of vessels, assuming the project increases electrification from 5% to 10% by 2030, and moves forward Net Zero achievement six years from 2046 to 2040, giving rise to:
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185,000 tCO2e reduced emissions and,
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£70m in fuel savings (difference between marine fuel and electricity costs)
Environmental – carbon reduction – indirect CO2 savings per annum
Battery and green hydrogen are expected to be the biggest means of decarbonisation of the central Thames in the long-term. Incorporating the flexible aspect of both technologies and coordinating the roll-out with the local development plans will release additional capacity for renewable generation on the distribution network, therefore achieving indirect reduction in CO2 emissions.
Metric: Tonnes CO2 reduction per annum
Revenues - improved access to revenues for users of network services
Electric Thames enables vessel owners and dock operators to benefit financially by participating in flexibility services, such as participating in demand response programs. This can potentially generate revenue for vessel owners, incentivising their participation in B2G programs to support the grid.
Metrics: Revenue gained from participating in flexibility markets from 2029.
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£16.1m from intra-day energy trading, assuming 20% of the battery capacity can earn 8p/kWh daily.
New to market – processes
Electric Thames will accelerate the technical, integration and commercial readiness of B2G solutions that make decarbonising river traffic more economic whilst also supporting economic infrastructure upgrades to support decarbonisation on the Thames.
Metric: Replication across GB to unlock wider benefits beyond UK Power Networks area.