Corvus Energy

Building batteries that put cleaner engines on the high seas. We all know the battery revolution has come for our pollution-creating cars and buses, but what about heavy-pollutant-spewing boats and ships, which use even dirtier fuels? Canada’s Corvus Energy—founded by a naval architect and a battery floated onto the scene in 2009, sights set on developing a marine-grade lithium ion battery that could withstand rough sea conditions. By 2011, they’d made their first sales to blue-chip companies like Siemens.  Their batteries now power 55% of the world’s 300 or so electric or hybrid vessels around the globe—from ferries, freighters, and cruise ships, to submarines, tug boats, and the vessels that serve offshore oil and gas rigs. Customers were initially seeking cost savings—defraying fuel and maintenance costs—but Corvus executive vice president Sean Puchalski says they’re increasingly interested in touting environmental benefits as well. (Hybrid ships’ carbon emissions are 20% to 30% less than the norm, and electrics 90% less, says Puchalski; even more significant is the reduction of particulate matter and heavy pollutants.) As the industry pioneer, Corvus assisted regulators in establishing safety standards for the broader industry. For the past four years, the company’s revenue growth rate has exceeded 100%.