# China Sets 2028 Inland Waterway Electrification Targets of 1,000 Electric Cargo Ships

On October 12, China's Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Energy Administration jointly issued the Inland Waterway New Energy Vessel Promotion Action Plan for 2026–2030\. The plan targets more than 1,000 electric transport vessels and more than 100 methanol-powered vessels by 2028, doubling the new-energy vessel fleet from 2025 levels\.

By China EV Signal
Published: 2026-10-27T13:12:33.967Z
Updated: 2026-10-27T13:12:33.969Z
Canonical article: https://chinaevsignal.com/news/china-inland-waterway-electrification-2028-targets

## Key takeaways

- China's three-ministry action plan for 2026–2030 sets a target of more than 1,000 electric transport vessels and more than 100 methanol-powered vessels by 2028, double the 2025 new-energy vessel fleet\.
- Hubei released three standard battery-swap cargo ship designs and signed 89 vessels on site ahead of the policy, with construction of the 89 ships scheduled to begin in 2027\.
- CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Pinglu Canal Group in August 2026 to co-build a zero-carbon canal, operate battery-bank rental services and deploy wind, solar and storage along the canal\.

## Three ministries issue inland electrification plan

On October 12, China's Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Energy Administration jointly issued the Inland Waterway New Energy Vessel Promotion Action Plan for 2026–2030\.

The plan sets a target of more than 1,000 electric transport vessels and more than 100 methanol-powered vessels by 2028, doubling the new-energy vessel fleet from 2025 levels\. It lists 11 key tasks, including improving standards and specifications\.

Under the plan, ship charging and battery-swap facilities in the Yangtze River Delta waterway network are to basically form a network, and methanol bunkering service capacity along the main Yangtze River line is to be available along the entire route\.

## Hubei signs 89 standard battery-swap cargo ships

Ahead of the policy, Hubei released three standard battery-swap cargo ship designs and signed 89 vessels on site\. The 89 standard ships are scheduled to begin construction in 2027\.

The vessels standardize the ship design, but the battery boxes are not yet interchangeable across ports and operators\.

China's first 10,000-tonne-class pure electric bulk carrier has entered operation in Wuhan\. The ship takes about 10 minutes for a single battery swap, has a 500 km range on a full charge, and is suited to mainstream cargo routes on the main Yangtze River line\. It replaces about 617\.5 tonnes of fuel and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,052 tonnes a year\.

## CATL builds ship battery business and zero-carbon canal project

CATL has set up CATL Electric Ship Technology Co\., Ltd\. to run ship power as an independent business segment\.

In August 2026, CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Pinglu Canal Group to jointly build a zero-carbon canal\. The first trial electric vessels carry CATL marine battery systems, and the partners will jointly operate battery-bank rental services and deploy wind and solar power stations and energy storage along the canal\.

In September, CATL won the bid for the WM-2057 battery module project of CSSC Weimai\.

## EVE Energy reports 1GWh marine battery shipments

EVE Energy obtained China Classification Society certification in 2016\. As of August 2026, cumulative shipments of its marine batteries exceeded 1GWh, and more than 50% of electric vessels in China use its solutions\.

EVE Energy's products hold certification from six international classification societies: CCS, BV, DNV, ABS, LR and NK\. The company's marine offerings include an all-time active balancing BMS, an independent thermal runaway gas venting system, the LF710 large-capacity battery system and the Zhiyuan marine battery product line\.

## CALB and industry standards work

In January, CALB signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Yangtze River Ship Supply Chain and Donghu Xinneng to jointly build an electric vessel standards system\.

The Maritime Safety Administration issued the 2026 amendment notice to the Technical Rules for Inland Waterway Small Ships, bringing lithium-ion batteries explicitly into the regulatory system for the first time\.

In April, Shandong Province issued a local standard, the Technical Specification for Pure Battery Power Conversion of Inland Waterway Ships, which designates lithium iron phosphate batteries as the preferred choice for conversion\.

The three-ministry plan lists three directions for key technology research: battery pack structural optimization, thermal runaway protection, and rapid fire suppression for high-energy-density lithium batteries\.

## Battery life and vessel service life differ

Civilian vessels generally have a design life of more than 20 years, while current automotive power battery warranties typically run about eight years\. Questions remain over actual battery cycle life under marine conditions, residual value assessment after retirement, and cross-port battery box interface standards, with no industry consensus yet reached\.

Industry observers also list as unverified whether battery banks can reach break-even and whether battery-swap station utilization can support investment recovery\.

## Methanol and hydrogen alternatives advance

In May, the world's first 24,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, Oriental Wisdom, completed sea trials\.

According to operating data from Shaoxing, methanol vessels cut fuel costs by about 50% versus diesel vessels, have more than three times the range of pure electric vessels, and cost about 40% less to build than diesel vessels\.

Also in May, Shanghai introduced an 800-tonne-class inland hydrogen fuel cargo ship using an organic liquid hydrogen carrier \(hydrogen oil\) route\. Fourteen tonnes of hydrogen oil can provide about 1,000 km of range, covering the round trip from Shanghai to Wuhan\. Hydrogen oil storage and transport efficiency is about double that of conventional high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage\.

## Original publisher

高工锂电. Published: 2026-10-27T11:53:37.000Z