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Exploring the Cost and Feasibility of Battery-Electric Ships

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50 points gnabgib | 2 comments | 20 Nov 24 16:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.407s | source
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DanielHB ◴[21 Nov 24 14:59 UTC] No.42204901[source]▶
I wonder how viable an autonomous single-container electric cargo ship would be, instead of massive ships you could have thousands of tiny ones. With automated loading/unloading it could massively simplify logistics

A solar panel covering the ship and one of those flaps to generate power from wind with a EV-scale battery could be enough for containers moving light non-time-sensitive stuff. Probably wouldn't be able to run the engine at night for long though.

Heck throw some wheels at it and fast charging at docks and it could even potentially drive down the road as a truck directly from sea.

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1. HeyLaughingBoy ◴[21 Nov 24 21:42 UTC] No.42208968[source]▶
That sounds like a nightmare in port. Instead of one ship, now you have thousands arriving one after another.
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2. DanielHB ◴[22 Nov 24 08:46 UTC] No.42212172[source]▶
If they are that small and autonomous the concept of a port would likely be very different than what it is today. More like thousands of small drop-off points around the coast.