Asia/Pacific News
ABB Sees Up to 17% Fuel Savings for COSCO In Shaft Generator System Deal
Technology firm ABB has signed a deal with shipping company COSCO to install permanent magnet shaft generator systems on ten of its boxships.
The systems will be installed on six 14,000 TEU COSCO boxships and four 16,000 TEU vessels before the end of 2025, it said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
The systems can delivery fuel savings of as much as 17% compared with traditional single-unit diesel generator sets, according to ABB.
"Shaft generators with permanent magnet technology offer 3-4 percent higher efficiency, reduced maintenance costs and an up to 20 percent smaller footprint compared to traditional, synchronous excitation-based shaft generator systems," the company said in the statement.
"In combination with ABB's advanced ACS 880 drive, which ensures maximum functionality and flexibility in hybridization applications, the technology can increase fuel efficiency by one additional percent.
"Moreover, compared with auxiliary diesel generator sets, permanent magnet shaft generators deliver up to 17 percent greater fuel efficiency during voyages."
Fuel-efficiency technologies are rapidly gaining in popularity among shipping companies as a means of cutting GHG emissions ahead of upcoming regulations without shifting to new zero-carbon fuels yet. They are also likely to remain popular once the shift to zero-carbon fuels has happened, as the much higher cost of these fuels will make fuel efficiency a higher priority.
