Geely’s methanol-electric technology is moving into China’s inland shipping market, with marine propulsion specialist Yuanchun reporting 67 vessels in operation or under construction and plans covering more than 120 vessels.

During discussions with Xinde Marine News at the international maritime exhibition in Dalian, the Farizon-affiliated company outlined its marine engine range and the reasoning behind its approach: generating electricity on board with methanol can reduce reliance on shore-based charging and battery-swapping facilities.

A working example is Yuanchun 001, a 64-TEU inland cargo vessel that entered commercial service following an inaugural voyage ceremony at Shanghai Port’s Luodong container terminal on 20 October 2025. The vessel brings technology developed within Geely’s commercial vehicle business into waterborne freight transport.

Engines generate, motors propel

Yuanchun was established in January 2023 within Farizon, Geely’s commercial vehicle business. Its marine product portfolio includes the GS13M and GS15M methanol engine series, covering both propulsion and power-generation applications.

Farizon announced China Classification Society type approval for its M100 single-fuel methanol marine engine in September 2024. M100 denotes methanol fuel rather than a methanol–petrol blend.

On Yuanchun 001, methanol engines drive generators, while electric motors turn the propellers. Batteries are connected to the same electrical system to store energy and supplement power supply. This is a series-hybrid arrangement: the engines supply electricity rather than mechanically driving the propeller shafts.

The 64.9-metre vessel has two 280 kW methanol generator sets and two 258 kWh lithium battery packs, providing 516 kWh of installed battery capacity. The generators can supply power during extended voyages, while the batteries support electric-only operation and manage changes in demand.

CSSC Ship Electric Technology (Wuxi), known as CSSC SETH, supplied the vessel’s battery, motor and electrical control systems. According to the supplier, the batteries provide peak shaving and fault ride-through capability, helping the electrical system cope with changing loads and short-term disturbances.

In practical terms, the batteries can supply additional power when propulsion demand rises, then recharge when demand falls and generating capacity is available. This reduces the need for the engines to follow every fluctuation in load.

The system supports combined generator-and-battery operation, generator-only supply, battery-only navigation and shore charging. Generator operation is governed by power demand and battery state of charge; the batteries do not have to run flat before the engines start.

Separating engine speed from propeller speed gives the operator more scope to run the generator sets at favourable loads. However, generation, power conversion and electric propulsion each introduce losses. Any efficiency advantage over mechanical propulsion depends on whether improved engine operation outweighs those additional losses.

The charging window matters

In Dalian, Yuanchun highlighted charging time, terminal infrastructure and battery-handling charges when comparing its system with battery-electric vessels. Its proposition is that onboard generation can support longer voyages without requiring large battery installations or frequent access to charging and swapping stations.

The strength of that argument varies by route.

Battery-electric services are already incorporating charging into cargo operations. On the Nanjing–Xuzhou inland container route in eastern China, charging and battery-swapping infrastructure has been installed at five port nodes, with vessels taking on electricity while loading.

Charging equipment is also improving. A 2025 industry development report published by China’s transport ministry-affiliated waterborne transport research institute records charging times of under two hours for 2,000 kWh-class battery-electric cargo vessels using a single charging connection, following the shift towards megawatt-level DC fast charging.

Battery swapping offers another option. Jiangsu’s state-assets regulator reports a 20-minute battery exchange time for the 120-TEU Jiangyuan Baihe. Depleted battery containers can recharge ashore while the vessel continues its service with replacement units.

For an operator, the decisive question is whether enough energy for the next voyage can be taken on during the scheduled port call. Charging that fits within cargo-handling time need not extend the vessel’s stay. Where suitable facilities are unavailable, or the turnaround is too short to replenish the required energy, onboard methanol generation becomes more useful.

That flexibility carries its own costs. Methanol-electric vessels require generator sets, fuel storage and supply systems, maintenance and reliable bunkering arrangements. Battery-swapping services require spare batteries, shore charging equipment and lifting operations. Neither configuration establishes a cost advantage without reference to the service it operates.

An operating reference, with costs still to assess

Yuanchun’s operating figures for Yuanchun 001 provide an initial basis for assessing its system.

According to company-supplied data, the vessel completed 45 round trips over six months between Xiasha in Hangzhou and Zhapu in Jiaxing, covering more than 10,000 km. Reported methanol consumption averaged 4.84 litres per kilometre.

Those figures describe performance on a particular route. A comparison with battery-electric or conventional propulsion would also require cargo loads, operating speeds, delivered fuel prices, shore electricity use, maintenance costs and capital expenditure.

The company’s project list extends beyond this vessel, including applications on China’s canal network, the Jinsha River in southwest China and the Xijiang River in southern China. Its reported total of 67 vessels combines ships already operating with those under construction; the planned programme of more than 120 vessels represents a separate stage of development.

Extending the business to fuel and ports

Geely’s marine expansion sits alongside its involvement in methanol production.

In February 2023, Geely Holding and Henan Shuncheng Group held an inauguration ceremony for their methanol project in Anyang, Henan province. Technology supplier Carbon Recycling International puts the plant’s annual design capacity at 110,000 tonnes, using hydrogen recovered from coke-oven gas and captured carbon dioxide to produce methanol with a lower carbon intensity. The ceremony followed commissioning in 2022.

The production pathway matters when assessing the fuel’s emissions benefit. Methanol still releases carbon dioxide when burned, so its lifecycle performance depends on feedstock, production energy and use. The Anyang project demonstrates Geely’s upstream involvement; it does not, by itself, establish the fuel source or emissions performance of individual vessels.

At the port level, Shanghai International Port Group and Geely Holding signed a green shipping strategic cooperation agreement on the day of Yuanchun 001’s inaugural voyage. Its scope includes port machinery, terminal vehicles and barges, alongside greener and more intelligent port operations.

That agreement gives Geely a route to apply its technology across connected freight operations—from vehicles working inside terminals to vessels moving cargo along inland waterways. For Yuanchun, the next commercial test is whether the flexibility demonstrated on board can translate into competitive transport costs across a wider range of routes.