Against the backdrop of the global shipping industry accelerating its transition toward a green and low-carbon future, electric vessels—with their core advantages of “zero emissions, low noise, and high energy efficiency”—are emerging as a key growth driver that is helping the shipbuilding industry break through traditional growth bottlenecks. According to forecasts by EVTank, China’s electric vessel market size will surpass 36.75 billion yuan by 2026, with lithium-battery demand reaching 11.2 GWh. Behind these figures lies a triple resonance of technological breakthroughs, policy support, and market demand.

Driven by both policy benefits and technological breakthroughs

China’s “Dual Carbon” strategy has accelerated the development of electric vessels. The “Action Plan for Green Development of the Shipbuilding Industry (2024–2030),” jointly issued by five ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, clearly states that by 2030, the market share of electric vessels must significantly increase, and the proportion of new vessels powered by new energy sources at coastal ports should exceed 30%. At the local level, provinces such as Fujian, Hubei, and Jiangsu have taken the lead in introducing specialized policies: Fujian Province, through its “Electric Fujian” initiative, provides subsidies of up to 15 million yuan for demonstration projects involving electric vessels, thereby fostering the nation’s first complete industrial cluster for electric vessels; meanwhile, Hubei Province, leveraging the Yangtze River’s golden waterway, aims to surpass 130 billion yuan in shipbuilding industry output value by 2027 and maintain a leading national market share in core power systems for electric vessels.

On the technological front, power battery companies are leveraging their experience in automotive electrification to enter the marine sector. CATL has introduced an integrated “Ship-Shore-Cloud” solution that uses high-voltage, high-power charging technology to enable cargo ships to recharge to 80% capacity in just 15 minutes. The world’s first battery-swapping cargo ship, the “Jining 6006,” has already been successfully replicated in overseas markets. EVE Energy, meanwhile, has developed a fully active-balancing BMS system specifically designed for the high-humidity and highly corrosive environments found on ships, extending the battery pack’s lifespan to 12,000 charge-discharge cycles and increasing the number of vessels equipped with its systems to over 1,300. Furthermore, CALB’s 2C fast-charging cells reduce charging time to under 30 minutes, making frequent operations possible for inland waterway shipping.

The application scenarios are expanding from inland waterways to the open ocean.

Electric vessels are now being scaled up and widely adopted in areas such as inland waterway transportation, port operations, and tourism. The world’s largest all-electric cargo ship—named “Gezhouba”—with a capacity of 10,000 tons, was launched in Yichang, Hubei Province, and is expected to replace 617.5 tons of fuel annually. Meanwhile, the all-electric passenger ferry “Yu Jian 77” from Fujian boasts an endurance of 45 nautical miles, perfectly meeting the needs of coastal sightseeing tours. The cruise ship “Yangtze Three Gorges 1” from Wuhan, equipped with a 10,000-kilowatt-hour battery pack, can travel 200 kilometers on a single charge. These landmark projects demonstrate that electric vessels already offer significant economic advantages in fixed-route and short-to-medium distance transportation scenarios.

Even more noteworthy is that technological advancements are continually pushing the boundaries of application. The development of new energy storage technologies, such as solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries, is paving the way for the electrification of ocean-going vessels. CATL has already initiated the mid-term acceptance testing of solid-state batteries, whose energy density has surpassed 400 Wh/kg, potentially addressing current concerns about the limited range of lithium-ion batteries. Meanwhile, EVE Energy’s sodium-ion batteries retain 90% of their capacity even in environments as low as -20°C, offering a viable alternative for shipping operations in high-latitude regions. At the same time, innovative solutions such as battery-swapping models and hydrogen-electric hybrid propulsion systems are also emerging—for instance, Hubei’s “Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat No. 1,” a hydrogen fuel cell vessel that achieves extended endurance through hydrogen refueling, signaling the emergence of a multi-technology approach to maritime propulsion.

Industry collaboration to build a trillion-dollar ecosystem.

The explosive growth of electric vessels is reshaping the value chain of the shipbuilding industry. Upstream power battery companies are accelerating their entry into the marine market; CATL’s marine batteries have already been installed on more than 700 vessels, while EVE Energy’s marine battery shipments have exceeded 526 MWh. In the midstream, shipbuilding enterprises are undergoing a green and intelligent transformation. Hubei Province has established four major manufacturing bases in cities such as Wuhan and Yichang, with a total shipbuilding capacity reaching 5.31 million deadweight tons. At the downstream operations end, specialized energy service companies are emerging—such as Xingyun Shares, which has launched a marine supercharging system that integrates photovoltaic energy storage and battery testing functions. Each unit boasts a power output of up to 630 kW, reducing charging time to within one hour.

This whole-industry-chain synergy is giving rise to new business models. In Fujian, the government, in collaboration with enterprises, has established a demonstration port integrating “photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, charging, and inspection.” By linking photovoltaic power generation, energy-storage peak-shaving, and charging facilities, the port has reduced electricity costs by 30%. In Hubei, Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang have formed the “Middle Yangtze River Multimodal Transport Alliance,” promoting seamless connections between electric vessels, China-Europe freight trains, and Yangtze River shipping, thereby building a green logistics corridor. According to estimates, if all 110,000 inland waterway vessels nationwide undergo electrification upgrades, it will attract investments exceeding one trillion yuan and foster a complete industrial ecosystem covering batteries, motors, electric control systems, and intelligent operation and maintenance.

Challenges and opportunities coexist.

Despite the promising outlook, the development of electric vessels still faces multiple challenges: First, the initial investment costs are high—marine lithium batteries cost twice as much as automotive batteries—and when combined with compliance costs such as classification society inspections, it becomes economically unfeasible to retrofit small and medium-sized vessels. Second, the charging infrastructure is lagging behind; nationwide, only slightly more than 300 ship charging stations have been built, and their power ratings generally fall below 500 kW. Third, the standards system remains incomplete—safety regulations for marine power batteries and charging interface standards still need to be standardized.

However, crises often give rise to new opportunities. As the price of lithium carbonate has fallen by 80% from its peak, battery costs continue to decline. Technological breakthroughs—such as high-voltage fast charging and battery-swapping systems—are helping to overcome bottlenecks in energy replenishment. Meanwhile, the introduction of standards like the “Interim Rules for Technology and Inspection of All-Electric Propulsion Ships (2025)” is laying a solid foundation for the industry’s standardized development. It is foreseeable that, driven jointly by policies, technology, and market forces, electric ships will expand from inland waterways to ocean-going routes, from pilot projects to widespread adoption, becoming a key driver of the global shipping industry’s green transformation—and providing a historic opportunity for China’s shipbuilding industry to achieve a “leapfrog” advancement.