A History of Electric Ship Propulsion Systems [History]

This article provides an electric ship history that starts during the early 1800s with the manual propulsion of small boats and concludes with modern electric vessels. An increasing demand for large ships for goods transportation, the cruise industry, and naval defense prompted tremendous research and development. Those efforts took place simultaneously in the marine industry and at universities, private research centers, and U.S. Navy facilities, and they resulted in the development of today's small all-electric ships and large hybrid vessels that provide more fuel efficiency and less air pollution. These marine craft include all types of Navy ships, vessels in the energy and transportation industries, passenger cruise liners, and smaller recreational boats. A tremendous effort is underway to lower all ship pollution by using dc battery systems along with generated electric power, resulting in socalled hybrid systems.