There are gaps between the various initiatives accelerating marine battery applications and the ship owners’ actual operational results. Moreover, most Norwegian ship owners are facing financial pressures and they must pursue significant benefits from continuing their green transition.
To remain at the forefront of international efforts towards the electrification of waterborne transport, this project aims at increasing the benefits to ship owners of operating marine batteries (MBs) on vessels by 5-10 %. The project consortium has brought Havila, Equinor, Corvus, SINTEF and IFE together. Three major innovations have been planned to unlock MB operational benefits in order to accelerate electrification of waterborne transport.
Firstly, a new integrated MB operational model will improve the current operational models by integrating three new MB operational modules. The first new MB operational data analysis and learning module will use a large amount (6 years) of operational data to highlight MB performances where most improvements could be gained. The second new module: MB degradation diagnosis and laboratory testing of new operational strategies aims to understand and minimize MB degradation under operational conditions on vessels. The third new module will explore MB operations with the existing onshore and future offshore charging facilities. This extends the current MB operations supporting diesel generators by keeping the generator at optimal efficiency.
Secondly, testing new optimized MB operational strategies has been planned on two commercially operating offshore supply vessels (PSVs) for two and half years. A comprehensive testing program will ensure sufficient iterations to improve new MB operation models and to achieve the optimized MB operational strategies to be tested on two PSVs.
Thirdly, roadmaps will enhance investor’s confidence in installing more MBs on vessels. It will provide the cost benefit analysis of installing more MBs on vessels and explore synergies of cross sector collaboration.
The amount of data and close cooperation between theoretical aspects and practical testing and implementation in this project are unprecedented. This project will have high impact on future R&D of MB applications.
Outcomes and impacts:
- A new integrated MB operational model will substantially improve the current operational models by integrating three new MB operational modules (operational data analysis and learning, degradation diagnosis and testing, benefits from onshore/offshore charging facilities).
- A comprehensive testing the optimized MB operational strategies on two PSVs for two and half years. The testing results will verify the new integrated MB operational models and identify the workable MB operational strategies on vessels.
- Roadmaps to enhance investor’s confidence in installing more MBs on vessels based on the cost benefit analysis and the synergies of cross sector collaboration.
The project impacts include:
- the new integrated MB operational model improving MB operations by 5-10%
- a new best practice for MBs which promotes future R&D and increases investor confidence for continued electrification of vessels to reduce costs and emissions.
Responsible organization and project administrator: Havila Shipping AS
Project manager: Equinor Energy AS
Contact:
Partners:
- Havila Shipping AS
- Equinor Energy AS
- Corvus Energy
- SINTEF Energy Research
- Institute for Energy Technology
This is an Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector (IPN) partly financed by the Research Council of Norway.