Electric Ships Flow Through the World’s Largest Green Trade Corridor

China’s Yangtze River is rapidly becoming a fully electrified shipping corridor, as new battery-powered bulk carriers and charging ports turn inland trade into a clean-energy network.

“The Gezhouba’s quiet launch is proof that once the grid is strong and the electricity clean, moving freight by battery becomes the natural choice,” said energy analyst Michael Barnard.

Built in Yichang, the 13,000-ton Gezhouba can travel 500 kilometres on a single charge, powered by 24 MWh of modular lithium batteries. Along the river, ultra-high-voltage lines deliver over 30 TWh of renewable energy each year to ports now equipped with electric cranes, trucks, and charging stations. With more than 8 GW of clean capacity feeding the corridor, the Yangtze is emerging as a model for how major inland trade routes, from the Rhine to the Mississippi, can shift from fossil fuels to fully electric transport systems.