When a ship arrives at port, its voyage may be over, but its engines often keep running. Without access to shore power, vessels must generate electricity onboard, producing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution that extend beyond the harbour into surrounding communities.

For Montréal-based Flux Lines, the challenge presents an opportunity to rethink how electricity reaches ships in the first place.

Founded by Marnix Valkeniers, the company is developing a floating energy storage system that can deliver electricity directly to vessels at berth. The technology is designed to operate as both a mobile shore power installation and grid-connected energy storage, offering an alternative to expensive, permanent electrical connections at individual terminals.

The idea emerged from a striking inefficiency at the Port of Montréal.

"The Port of Montreal has had a fixed shore power connection at its cruise terminal for almost 10 years, which cost over 10 million CAD, and is used only a few times per year," Valkeniers said. "Most of the year, this expensive shore power connection sits idle, while the cargo ships at the other terminals in the port keep their engines running."

Rather than building new infrastructure at every berth, Valkeniers began considering how ports could make better use of the electrical capacity they already have.

"So we started thinking: what if we could use the idle connection at the cruise terminal to charge a large battery, and then float this battery to ships at the cargo terminals," he said.

That question became the foundation of Flux Lines.

The proposed system would allow batteries to charge through existing electrical infrastructure before being transported by barge to ships elsewhere in the harbour. When connected to the grid, the batteries could also provide energy storage services that help maintain grid stability.

For shipping lines, the technology could reduce fuel consumption, engine maintenance costs and emissions. Port authorities and terminal operators could offer shore power without investing in costly permanent infrastructure at every berth.

The potential benefits extend beyond maritime operations. According to Flux Lines, ships running their engines in port generate approximately 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions globally each year, alongside local air pollution and noise that affect nearby communities.

Making shore power more accessible could therefore deliver both climate and public health benefits, particularly in major port cities where maritime activity takes place close to residential neighbourhoods.

Yet the path from identifying a problem to building a viable technology company is rarely straightforward.

When Valkeniers first connected with the Ocean Startup Project, the concept was still evolving, and he had barely discussed it with prospective customers. Participation in the Ocean Idea Challenge gave him an opportunity to begin testing his assumptions and exploring the commercial potential of the idea.

"The biggest impact that OSP made was in selecting Flux Lines for the idea challenge at a point when I was still doubting whether to pursue my idea," Valkeniers said. "The backing from OSP and especially Iliass, gave me the confidence I needed to go for it and start talking to the industry to refine and validate the concept and market."

Flux Lines subsequently participated in the 2025 Ocean Startup Challenge and was accepted into the Blue Action Canada accelerator. Through its continued development and industry engagement, the company has moved from an early concept toward an engineered solution with class Approval-in-Principle, attracting interest from the largest Port Authorities and shipowners in Europe.

Valkeniers is now concentrating on the European market, where regulatory requirements are helping drive demand for shore power. He hopes Canada will eventually develop a more favourable regulatory environment for widespread adoption, particularly given the potential benefits for communities living near ports.

For aspiring entrepreneurs pursuing similarly ambitious technologies, his advice reflects the realities of developing solutions for an established, infrastructure-intensive industry.

"Be patient. Building something valuable and unique takes time, and anything that can be built in a few weeks can probably also be replaced in a few weeks," he said.

The ambition behind Flux Lines extends beyond making an individual port more efficient. It is about addressing an often-overlooked consequence of an industry that underpins global trade.

"I sometimes call the shipping industry a 'hidden giant' and that also applies to the ocean," Valkeniers said. "While these hidden giants feel very far away for a lot of people in their everyday lives, they quietly impact almost every aspect of our life."

For Flux Lines, making that hidden industry's environmental footprint smaller begins with a deceptively simple proposition: bringing clean electricity to ships, rather than requiring ships to come to it.

Visit flux-lines.com to learn more.