FLEXSHIP Concept and technology

FLEXSHIP will allow ship owners to electrify their fleet in a seamless manner with a one-stop solution that can be scaled to fit the needs of individual vessels.

FLEXSHIP concept

The FLEXSHIP concept consists of six key elements, together these key elements developed in FLEXSHIP will allow ship owners to electrify their fleet in a seamless manner with a one-stop solution that can be scaled to fit the needs of individual vessels.

Design of the electrical grid architecture including controls, and connection with energy providers and charging strategies;

Optimal and safe operation management (intelligent BMS, energy management system (EMS), power management system (PMS), connection to cloud);

Modelling tools, incl. the FLEXSHIP Green Digital Twin;

A rack-less and modular battery system (incl. highpower/high-energy batteries, DC switchboard, active safety, and thermal management system);

Safe integration and validation of the system via multi-level HiL and SiL testing in the Green Digital Twin environment;

Demonstration of the full-scale system onboard FLEXSHIP’s two demonstration vessels (one fully electric and one electric-hybrid)

Positioning of the FLEXSHIP technology maturity

The FLEXSHIP innovations are considered at two levels: 1) innovations related to the overall design approach, and 2) innovations related to the
design of components and sub-systems (technical innovations).

FLEXSHIP will develop, integrate, and demonstrate different technologies and innovations at Technological
Readiness Level (TRL) 7 to drive forward the electrification of the waterborne sector. This will be done by validation of electrical architectures and power management systems, development of modular and flexible battery systems and subsystems, verification of interoperability with existing vessel electrical grids and on-shore electrical
infrastructure, and safe integration of the large-capacity battery systems onboard.

Methodology

The FLEXSHIP solutions for vessel electrification will be characterized by their flexibility, modularity, and scalability.

This will ensure that the solutions are relevant to a wide selection of vessel types as the same system concept can be optimized to fit the specific needs of the individual vessels by adding/removing battery modules and control

units. FLEXSHIP will build on best practices and lessons learned from electrification of other sectors, e.g., the road transport sector, where electrification has been ongoing longer than in the waterborne sector. FLEXSHIP will also utilize the knowhow and experience generated in the projects SEABAT and Current Direct (H2020 LC-BAT-11-2020).

Use cases and demonstrations

The FLEXSHIP system will be demonstrated in two full-scale vessels (referred to as DEMOs). The demonstration of the system will be a multi-layer verification consisting of the modelling and simulation of the battery system optimised to fit the specific needs and specification of each of the DEMOs, lab testing of the system on small scale, and demonstration of the full system onboard each of the DEMOs in sea trials and dockside tests.

DEMO-1:

R/V Gunnerus

Work Site

Trondheim, Norway

Genset Power

3 x 450kW

Electric Drive Motor Powers

2 x 500kW + 1 x 200kW

Propeller

2 main azimuths + 1 tunnel thruster

Operating Modes

Mapping and monitoring of
marine resources. ROV tracking

Expected fuel and CO2 saving with
FLEXSHIP system

Speed: 10.5 knots

Route: 30 nm (~3hrs.)

Power consumption: 320 kW

Fuel consumption: 80 (L/h)*3(h) = 240 L MDO

CO2=2.69*240 = 645.6 kg CO2

DEMO-2:

Atatürk

Work Site

Kocaeli, Turkey

Genset Power

2 x 750kW

Electric Drive Motor Powers

2 x 1500kW

Propeller

2 main azimuths

Operating Modes

Passenger ferry in Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality

Expected fuel and CO2 saving with
FLEXSHIP system

Speed: 15 knots

Route: 296 nm (line 5 x 8 trip) (~14hrs.)

Power consumption: 600 kW

Fuel consumption: 120 (L/h) *14 (h) = 1680 L MDO

CO2 = 2.69*1680 = 4.515 T CO2

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