Marine Solar Power Systems "Ready for Commercial Release" Following Successful Sea Trials

Aquarius MAS + Solar PV Array on Blue Start Delos at Ios

Eco Marine Power Co. Ltd. (EMP) Tuesday said that its two marine solar power systems, Aquarius MAS + Solar and Aquarius Marine Solar Power, are ready for commercial release.

The news follows the recent successful completion of sea trials during two days of testing and evaluation on May 17 and May 19 on-board the Greek high speed car and passenger ferry Blue Star Delos as part of the Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Innovation Project.

"Aquarius MAS + Solar is an innovative renewable energy solution for ships and the trial system includes a 2.3 kWp marine solar panel array, a 5.4 kWhr battery pack, MPPT charge controllers, a marine computer plus associated communications and interface devices," said EMP.

The marine computer used on the vessel is part of EMPs Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS), which has been jointly developed with KEI System of Osaka, Japan, which monitors the performance of the marine solar power array, charge controllers, and batteries.

Fuel Consumption Monitoring

The system is also connected to the vessel's fuel flow meters and a dedicated GPS unit allowing real-time monitoring of fuel consumption as well as the vessel's Nox, Sox, and CO2 emissions.

The two days of testing and evaluation were conducted as Blue Star Delos sailed on its 16 hour route though the Aegean Sea from Piraeus to Paros, Naxos, Ios, Santorini, and then back to the Port of Piraeus via Ios, Naxos, and Paros once again.

EMP said on each voyage the system was "easily capable" of charging its battery pack plus supplying power to a test load of 24V DC LED lights both during the day and night.

"We are very pleased with the results from the evaluation of Aquarius MAS + Solar on Blue Star Delos and together with the acceptance notification from ClassNK in March, this paves the way for its commercial release," commented Greg Atkinson, Chief Technology Officer of Eco Marine Power.

"We are also very grateful to the support we received during the trial from Blue Star Ferries and the co-operation of the crew on-board Blue Star Delos."

EMP says it will offer two solar-power focused solutions for shipping and offshore applications – Aquarius MAS + Solar and Aquarius Marine Solar Power.

"The major difference between the two is that Aquarius MAS + Solar is designed to interconnect with other equipment such as fuel flow meters, GPS, relays and auxiliary generators whereas Aquarius Marine Solar Power is basically a stand-alone solution," EMP explained.

The Company says later this month it will present further details of the evaluation trials on Blue Star Delos at the Electric and Hybrid Marine World Expo 2015 in Amsterdam.

Last month EMP said it had established a new development and test facility in Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan in a step towards bringing its Aquarius MRE wind and solar marine propulsion technology to market.