DNV GL Hybrid Propulsion Tests Show Improved Energy Efficiency

The Viking Lady acts as a "full-scale test laboratory"

DNV GL Wednesday in an emailed press release announced at the Greener Shipping Summit in Athens that promising results had been recorded during recent tests of a new battery hybrid propulsion system.

"The battery hybrid installation has been tested in sea trials, which showed that a 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, 25 per cent reduction in NOx emissions and 30 per cent reduction in GHG emissions can be realised in practice, especially for [Dynamic Positioning] DP operations," said DNV GL.

Tests were carried out using Viking Lady, an offshore supply vessel operating in the North Sea.

For this project Viking Lady was fitted with a 450 kilowatt hour (kWh) lithium-ion battery to supplement its conventional diesel-electric propulsion system comprising four dual-fuel engines driving five thrusters.

"The battery acts as an energy buffer that is able to cover the intense load variations that can occur, especially in DP and standby operations," said DNV GL.

The battery allows generators to produce power at a more constant rate meaning increased energy efficiency as well as safety.

"Considering that the global fleet of offshore supply vessels of relevant sizes is over 4,000, such technologies have the potential to make an impact when it comes to improving sustainability," said Nikolaos Kakalis, Head of DNV GL Strategic Research & Innovation in Greece, at the conference.

DNV GL said the achievements had been made as part of the FellowSHIP III research and development collaboration between DNV GL, Eidesvik Offshore and Wärtsilä, with part-funding from the Research Council of Norway.

DNV GL recently announced it was expanding its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) consulting business in Singapore.