Oslo: Norwegian citizen Hallvard Slettevoll is one of the world’s top minds when it comes to electric ship propulsion, a fast growing area in the maritime segment.
The ceo of Stadt AS tells Maritime CEO of his plans to stay ahead of the propulsion curve.
The company is now building a new technology park in the west of Norway to develop and test different kinds of electric ship propulsion solutions, like diesel /LNG/ battery, something Slettevol refers to as “electric combined solutions” as well as conducting propeller test benches.
Stadt’s main product at present is the Stadt Stascho, a patented no loss drive system for electric ship propulsion.
“It’s unique in many ways compared to what has been used so far in electric propulsion,” says Slettevoll, explaining its noise-free, or “stealth” as Slettevoll likes to call it, moreover it is based on pure AC and does not need transformers or harmonic filters, is compact and robust.
Slettevoll is a clever entrepreneur. He started Stadt Automasjon in 1986, developing four generations of AC drive technologies, all based on pulse with modulation. He sold all these products to Swiss giant ABB in 2001.
As soon as the sale was out the way however, Slettevol, now 52, established Stadt AS, bringing to market a fifth generation of AC drive technology.
