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Eco Marine Power (EMP) announced on Monday that Japan-based Furukawa Battery has been formally certified as a supplier of batteries for use on ship and marine structures.

The certification covers a range of batteries technologies, including the hybrid valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) UltraBattery (UB).

Furukawa Battery and EMP first began to co-operate in 2014, and teamed up for the Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Project, during which Furukawa Battery supplied a FC-38-12 battery pack for evaluation on board the high- speed ferry Blue Star Delos. This cooperation has since extended to include the evaluation of other battery technologies, including the UltraBattery series.

Recently, the first UB-50-12 battery pack for ships was also prepared; these batteries are said to be ideal for renewable energy projects and have a long cycle life.

Furukawa Cycle Power (FCP) batteries have also been certified by EMP.

The certification process included obtaining approval from ClassNK for each battery type, an inspection of the Furukawa Battery production centre at Imaichi Plant at Nikko, Japan, and a review of the relevant quality standards and certifications including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. EMP also assessed how Furukawa Battery recycles returned batteries as part of a sustainability review.

The batteries covered by the EMP certification are: FC-38-12, UB-50-12, FCP-500 & FCP-1000.

Commenting on the EMP certification, Mr. Kodaka, General Manager, Overseas Sales and Marketing Department at Furukawa Battery, said: "We are very pleased to have been recognised by Eco Marine Power as a supplier of high-quality and reliable batteries for ships and marine use. Our battery technologies have been proven to be very safe and reliable over many years and we are excited that we can offer these globally in co-operation with Eco Marine Power."

Greg Atkinson, Chief Technology Officer at Eco Marine Power, remarked: "For many energy storage solutions for ships and marine applications the key is to keep things simple, safe and reliable. The battery technologies that we have certified from Furukawa Battery allow us to offer energy storage solutions that are easy to install, do not require complicated cooling or control systems and are cost effective."

Furukawa Battery is due to display its battery technologies for ships along with Eco Marine Power during Sea Japan in Tokyo, from April 11-13.