Derecktor to Build Mobile ‘ChargeBarge’ for Vessel-to-Vessel Electric Charging
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Photon Marine has received the first $1 million MegaBoost award from the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York to demonstrate a marine electrification system built around three connected components: a 24-foot production-grade electric workboat, a 40-kW marine DC fast charger and a 32-foot floating battery and charging platform called ChargeBarge. Derecktor Shipyards will fabricate the ChargeBarge in New York. The platform is being developed to carry stored electrical energy to vessels, supporting vessel-to-vessel charging, remote fleet operations, temporary deployments and possible emergency-power use during grid disruptions. The project builds on several seasons of electric-workboat trials with the New York Power Authority and New York State Canal Corporation and is expected to culminate in a fully integrated demonstration in late 2027 or early 2028.
Instead of Bringing Every Boat to the Charger, Bring the Stored Energy to the Boat
ChargeBarge is intended to move the charging point onto the water. The concept pairs mobile battery storage with marine charging equipment so electric workboats operating away from developed waterfront power can receive energy without a permanent high-power charger at every location.
First award under the NSF Energy Storage Engine's new commercial-scale MegaBoost program.
Floating battery and charging platform to be fabricated in New York by Derecktor Shipyards.
A separate fast-charging component will be developed and deployed with the demonstration.
Photon's Gen-7 electric outboard system will power the 24-foot production workboat.
Integrated operation is targeted for late 2027 or early 2028.
Battery storage on the floating platform is charged where electrical supply is available.
Stored electricity can be moved toward a work area instead of installing permanent high-power infrastructure at every waterfront location.
Electric workboats can receive power at or near their operating location through vessel-to-vessel charging.
From a Test Boat to a Complete Energy System
The MegaBoost project adds charging and mobile energy storage to a workboat program that has already spent several seasons testing day-to-day Canal Corporation jobs.
| System Element | Configuration | Role | Previous Experience | MegaBoost Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Workboat Field Tested | 24-foot production-grade workboat using Photon Marine's Gen-7 P300 electric propulsion system. | Perform commercial and government workboat missions while producing real duty-cycle and energy-consumption data. | Earlier Photon-powered test boats were used for buoy retrieval, dredge-pipe towing, crew transport and debris removal on the New York State Canal System. | Move from leased pilot hardware toward a production-representative vessel configuration. |
| Marine DC Charger 40 kW | Dedicated 40-kW DC charging infrastructure for electric commercial, government and recreational vessels. | Provide a faster fixed charging point and generate real utilization data. | Earlier Canal testing largely depended on existing electrical connections and overnight charging. | Develop and deploy purpose-built marine DC fast-charging capability. |
| ChargeBarge New Build | 32-foot floating platform carrying battery energy storage and high-power charging equipment. | Move stored electrical energy toward the operating vessel rather than requiring fixed charging at every location. | No ChargeBarge operated in the earlier NYPA pilot. | Fabrication by Derecktor Shipyards followed by vessel-to-vessel and remote-fleet testing. |
| Data Layer Fleet Analytics | Vessel performance, battery state of charge, battery health, duty cycle and charging records. | Determine how much energy real missions consume and where charging infrastructure is actually required. | Prior trials already generated operational experience and battery-monitoring data. | Add charging utilization, vessel-to-vessel energy transfer and potential grid applications. |
| Deployment Playbook Commercialization | Fleet-electrification guidance based on the completed demonstration. | Give other operators a repeatable framework for assessing electric vessels, chargers and energy storage. | Earlier trials were primarily designed to establish whether electric workboats could perform Canal Corporation missions. | Translate the demonstration into a model intended for other U.S. commercial fleets. |
The earlier test boat was operated more than 200 miles from Buffalo to Syracuse during 2025 Erie Canal bicentennial activities.
One roughly ten-hour leg was completed at about four to four-and-a-half knots, with approximately 30% battery charge remaining.
Canal crews worried about arriving for work to find a vessel incompletely charged because an electric boat cannot simply be refueled in minutes like the gasoline workboat beside it.
Derecktor Brings Existing Hybrid-Vessel Experience
Derecktor's Mamaroneck yard remains its new-construction base. The company has previously delivered multiple hybrid commercial vessels and describes itself as an early U.S. builder of commercial hybrid craft, giving the ChargeBarge project a shipyard partner with prior experience integrating marine electrical and energy systems.
Mobile Marine Charging Mission Planner
Model how a battery-equipped charging platform could support a remote electric workboat fleet. Because Photon has not disclosed ChargeBarge battery capacity or transfer power, those fields are intentionally editable assumptions.
Mission Energy Requirement
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