On May 8, "Zhongtian Dianyun 001", the first 1000-ton all-electric cargo ship to run in the Yangtze River Basin, had a successful trial run in Changzhou. Liang Yibo, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Changzhou Municipal Committee and executive vice mayor of Changzhou, attended the test run ceremony.

The ship has battery energy of about 1,458 kilowatt hours, or about the same energy of 40 electric vehicles. After being charged for 2.5 hours, the ship can run 50 kilometers. On an annual basis of 150 voyages, the ship’s energy consumption is about 450,000 kilowatt hours of electricity instead of 20.16 tons of fuel per year.

According to the State Grid Changzhou Electric Power Co., Ltd., the ship represents a technological breakthrough as it is the first to use lithium battery in a fully powered cargo vessel running in the inland section of the Yangtze River. Use of the new-energy cargo vessel will help greatly reduce the emission of waste gas pollutants in the Yangtze River.

At present, 4,918 sets of shore power systems have been built in Jiangsu province, covering 60.5% of its eight coastal cities� berths along the tributaries of Yangtze River. The shore-based power supply can reach 57.01 million kilowatt hours per year. With the development of battery technologies and energy solutions, the market size of electric ships such as river cruise ships, ferries, patrol boats and cargo ships used for short-haul voyages will reach 45.3 billion yuan by 2024.