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Project leaders and marine charging specialists Oasis Marine have partnered with rapid charging specialist Turbo Power Systems, intelligent energy management and storage specialist Verlume and the government-backed Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to develop and install the charging station. The ‘smart energy storage and charging infrastructure’ is aimed at enabling fully electric maritime operations at offshore wind farms.
The two-year project, awarded a share of the Department for Transport and Innovate UK’s £60m Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) grant, will be developed for charging hybrid and electric crew transfer vessels (CTVs) and will be demonstrated over two phases.
The first phase will prove the transfer of power, using Verlume’s battery and intelligent energy management technology to charge a vessel via the Oasis Power Buoy at sea.
During the second phase, the project will work with energy company Vattenfall on technical and regulatory developments, aiming for an on-turbine demonstration at the firm’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay. AC power generated by the existing wind turbines will be supplied via Turbo Power Systems’ high power charging technology to the Oasis Power Buoy.
During the demonstration, a hybrid CTV would travel from Aberdeen Harbour to the wind farm, then connect and recharge while maintenance technicians work on the turbines.
The range and operating duration of electric and hybrid vessels is a major barrier for decarbonisation of the maritime sector. Currently vessels can only be charged in ports, and most wind farms are too far from shore to allow full journeys on battery power.
Offshore charging from a zero-emission energy source could allow CTVs to operate on electric power most of the time, extending their operational range and significantly reducing emissions.
“The ability to recharge vessels offshore is crucial for decarbonising maritime,” said George Smith, managing director at Oasis Marine. “Initial sea trials of the Oasis Power Buoy were conducted in early 2022, and this CMDC funding allows for progression to full infrastructure testing.”
Turbo Power Systems will design, build and test a high-power DC power supply for the conversion of power from the wind turbine to the charging unit. Verlume will supply a modular battery storage system with intelligent energy management for early testing, and ORE Catapult will be responsible for CTV requirements, supporting a regulatory review and project management.
Paul Slorach, chief technology officer at Verlume, said: “The impact of the infrastructure is expected to be impressive, with a predicted minimum reduction of one tonne of carbon dioxide per CTV per day of operation over the life of the wind farm. We hope that this is the first step towards the vessel charging concept being a common sight in the offshore environment across the world.”
Crew transfer vessels will be the primary focus of the project, but the partners said the concept could also be scaled for oil and gas vessels, as well as larger service operation vessel daughter craft, which could be used at wind farms further from shore.
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