Vard Electro has announced an order from Siem Offshore that will see the company deliver its largest battery package to date. The batteries will be used to retrofit one of the Norwegian company’s vessels as it upgrades its fleet to run on hybrid power to reduce fuel costs and lower emissions.
The supply package for the Siem Offshore subsea construction vessel will consist of a Vard Electro SeaQ Energy Storage System (ESS), two battery packs and a DC link. Installation is scheduled for early 2022 ahead of the ship carrying out work in the wind sector.
Following the installation, the vessel will be able to maneuver in harbors and other restricted areas in a fully electric mode, resulting in zero emissions running and an estimated 20% fuel saving. The SeaQ ESS will store excess energy generated by the vessel or from shoreside connections with renewable power sources to replace engines running on polluting fossil-based fuels that drive propulsion and thruster systems.
The power stored in the batteries will be used as a spinning reserve in place of generator sets, enabling the ship to run on fewer engines, but with more optimal load while maintaining the requirement for redundancy. The batteries will also allow for peak shaving to take the strain off the engines during big load variations – this works by levelling power and delaying the need for the vessel’s engines to restart. Due to less engine run time, fuel consumption is reduced and maintenance costs lowered.
“A significant benefit of battery storage is that it enhances the responsiveness of propulsion and other systems due to instant power response in line with load variations, offsetting slower ramp speeds with less responsive engines” commented Gisle Anderssen, head of commercial sales, Vard Electro.
The batteries will be supplied with a DC grid for power distribution to consumers, with control and monitoring of the battery storage solution handled by Vard’s SeaQ Energy Management System. This will interact with existing control systems onboard Siem’s vessel.
“The flexibility of the SeaQ ESS system that enables it to be easily integrated with a vessel’s existing systems, as well as its advanced functionality, were key factors in our selection of Vard Electro for this retrofit to reduce our environmental footprint,” explained Jon Houge, operations manager, Siem Offshore.
Vard Electro will carry out the engineering, installation, testing and commissioning of the entire system.