UK - Two vessel charging systems being prepared for tests offshore
The offshore charging systems market for wind vessels is developing quickly, with new advancements emerging regularly. Recently, a consortium of companies was granted £1.5m by the UK Department for Transport and Innovate UK to demonstrate an offshore charging system on an offshore wind farm. The consortium includes Oasis Marine, Turbo Power Systems, Verlume, and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. The project aims to develop offshore charging infrastructure that will be used for charging hybrid and electric crew transfer vessels (CTVs) and will be demonstrated over two phases. During the first phase, offshore charging infrastructure will be created to charge a vessel through Verlume's battery and intelligent energy management technology, utilising the Oasis Power Buoy while at sea. The second phase will work with Vattenfall to conduct an on-turbine demonstration at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre in Aberdeen Bay. The ultimate objective is to develop a charging station that can be used to recharge electric vessels in the field.
In another development, MJR Power and Automation, along with Blackfish Engineering and Tidal Transit, recently completed harbour trials of an automated offshore power and charging system, which replicates the installation of the offshore power and charging system on an offshore wind turbine or substation. All interconnection, mooring, automation, monitoring, and safety systems were rigorously tested and validated during the trials. With successful harbour trials now complete, MJR is preparing for installation on an operational offshore windfarm substation in the North Sea. This achievement shows that automated offshore power and charging systems are a viable solution for the renewable energy industry, paving the way for more offshore charging systems to be developed and utilised by the industry.
Source: rivieramm.com