Shipping also needs to reduce its CO2 emissions, prompting a major search for alternative fuels and propulsions. Shipbuilder Damen is focusing on electric ships, among other things. We spoke with Peter Rampen, research engineer at Damen.
By: Dimitri Reijerman
Rampen will, together with Piet Faasse, on behalf of Damen Shipyards lecture on electric ships during the upcoming Power Electronics event. According to the researcher, various trends in the field of fuels and propulsion can be identified. For example, LNG is gaining ground as a transition fuel, but fuel cells are also gaining attention.
Because conventional fuels such as diesel and fuel oil are expected to become more expensive in the future, partly due to environmental taxes, not only shipbuilders but also clients - shipping companies in particular - are placing different requirements on ships to be built. Rampen: “The classic approach is that they look at the cost price of the ship, but they are increasingly moving towards designing a ship based on operational costs. This way the TCO (total cost of ownership) down.”
Fully electric and hybrid
According to Rampen, Damen already builds electric ships from small to large. There are currently about ten ships under construction that will sail electrically. The smaller ships, often ferries, can be fully electrically equipped. A ferry designed by Damen for the Danish public transport company Arriva Danmark can be charged in seven minutes each way. But Damen has also built a hybrid naval ship in which batteries are charged using diesel generators.
Another trend that Rampen identifies is the introduction of more and more electronics in modern ships, some of which originally come from the consumer market. He mentions, among other things, the use of LED lighting, frequency drives and new electric drives. For example, electric motors and batteries are emerging from the automotive market, which are also interesting in shipping: “These components have a much higher energy density and a greater temperature range, but they are still at the lower end in terms of power. These are therefore only suitable for powering a water bus, for example,” says Rampen.
When building ships with higher power, Damen encounters significant challenges in practice: “The electricity grids on shore in particular are often too weak for fast charging,” says Rampen. “For this you have to place buffer stations on the side. In addition, there are the choices regarding the application of direct current or alternating current topologies.”
Practical case
During his lecture, Rampen will discuss the design challenges that arose during the development of a ferry with a fully electric drive. Because what exactly should the security of a DC system on board look like? And how should the fast charging infrastructure be designed?
Developments in fully electrically powered ship propulsion are now taking place at lightning speed. For example, experiments are being planned to allow inland vessels to sail emission-free thanks to the Skoonbox, an interchangeable battery pack the size of a container. Damen works together with the startup behind the Skoonbox.
Whatever the future will look like, according to Rampen, power electronics will soon be the enabler to electrically power shipping - initially certainly for ships that sail close to the coast or travel relatively short distances. Would you like to attend Damen's lecture? Register for free for a visit to the Power Electronics event.
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