Lithium-ion and EV awareness: October 2024

Lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles (EV) have become more commonplace in the port industry. With EVs representing four per cent of the cars in the UK, more passengers are boarding ferries in their electric cars; ports are handling cargo containing lithium-ion batteries, and many ports are moving to EVs for plant and fleet vehicles.

However, the increase in distribution and popularity of lithium-ion batteries and EVs has brought with it a set of challenges that the port industry needed to prepare for.

Over a two-week long campaign PSS produced a series of articles highlighting the safety implications of EV and lithium-ion batteries. The highlight of the week was on Thursday, 17 October 2024, when PSS and the UK Chamber of Shipping hosted the Electric Vehicle Maritime Safety Conference.

This conference brought together experts from academia, the automotive and maritime industries, to discuss the risks and mitigations arising from the increased use of electric vehicles in ports and their transportation on ferries and car carriers. Keynote speakers, including Martin Brown, improvement consultant at Horiba Mira, and Professor Paul Christensen, Chair of Pure and Applied Electrochemistry; shared their thoughts and insights from years of electric vehicle research and development. The event also included panel discussions and the opportunity to exchange experiences and developments with other industry professionals.

You can read all the articles produced during the campaign week below, as well as hearing the audio presentations from the conference.