Rolls-Royce is entering the ship battery business, launching a marine lithium-ion based energy storage system.
Rolls-Royce has been delivering energy storage systems since 2010, however the actual energy storage units were previously supplied by an external party.
Rolls-Royce has now debuted SAVe Energy, a liquid cooled battery system with a modular design that enables the product to scale according to energy and power requirements. SAVe Energy complies with international legislations for low and zero emission propulsion systems and has received class approval from DNV GL.
The development work has been partly funded by the Norwegian Research Council of Norway’s ENERGIX program. Three shipowning companies – Color Line, Norled and the Norwegian Coastal Administration Shipping Company – have been partners in the development, ensuring that the energy storage system covers a wide variety of marine applications, including ferries, cruise vessels and multipurpose vessels.
Andreas Seth, executive vice presient at Rolls-Royce, commented: “The electrification of ships is building momentum. From 2010 we have delivered battery systems representing about 15 MWh in total. However now the potential deployment of our patent pending SAVe Energy in 2019 alone is 10-18 MWh.”
SAVe Energy can be applied to several areas including peak shaving, spinning reserve and battery powered vessels.
“Combined with a LNG or diesel powered engine in a hybrid solution, it will increase efficiency and reduce emissions, and can be coupled with most types of propulsion units,” Rolls-Royce said in a release. In a hybrid set up, SAVe Energy handles the peak load, while the main power generators will relate to the average load and not reduce the propulsion units thrusting capabilities.
“Battery systems have become a key component of our power and propulsions systems, and SAVe Energy is being introduced on many of the projects we are currently working on. This includes the upgrade programme for Hurtigruten’s cruise ferries, the advanced fishing vessel recently ordered by Prestfjord and the ongoing retrofits of offshore support vessels. As a system provider we can find the best solution considering both installation and operational cost”, Seth added.
