AIDA Cruises, as part of Europe’s leading cruise company Costa Group, starts cooperation with the leading marine battery supplier in the world - Corvus Energy from Norway. A corresponding agreement was signed on Tuesday, August 20, 2019.
The purpose of the cooperation is the installation of lithium-ion battery storage systems onboard the AIDA Cruises fleet and the beginning of operations on the first AIDA ship next year.
The Norwegian-Canadian company Corvus Energy is among the most renowned suppliers of marine batteries. It is considered a pioneer in the development of maritime energy storage systems. Other partners of the project will be the companies Siemens and ABB.
After the introduction of low-emission LNG operations, AIDA Cruises is also stepping up into the practical use of electrical energy from battery storage systems onboard large cruise liners. Due to the technology's usage, the consumption of fossil fuel is expected to be reduced further and the efficiency of cruise ship operations will be significantly increased. It's planned to incorporate the experiences from the pilot operation of battery systems onboard other Costa and AIDA cruise ships.
As early as the end of 2020, a total of 12 of 14 AIDA ships will be able to get shore power where available. Since 2017, the company's AIDAsol has been using Hamburg-Altona's shore power plant in regular operation.
As part of the “Green Cruising Strategy”, AIDA is exploring the possibilities of CO2-free production of liquefied gas from renewable sources or the use of fuel cells in cruise shipping. In 2021, via cooperation with Meyer Werft and other partners, the first fuel cell test is due onboard an AIDA cruise ship.