Stena Line introducing battery-electric operation to ferry; three stages up to 50 all-electric nautical miles
10 June 2018
Stena Line, one of Europe’s leading ferry companies with 38 vessels and 21 routes in Northern Europe, is introducing battery power to its operations. Stena recently signed with Callenberg Technology Group for 1 MWh of batteries which will be installed on Stena Jutlandica which operates between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn.
Stena envisions three phases to the project. In step one, due this summer, the 1 MWh, 3,000 kW battery pack, which will be located on the weather deck, will be used for bow thrusters and maneuvering when berthing in port. In step two, a 20 MWh battery pack will be connected to the propellers; Stena Jutlandica will be able to be operated on electricity within around 10 nautical miles, equal to the distance between Göteborg and Vinga Lighthouse.
In step three, the battery capacity will be further expanded to 50 MWh, enabling about 50 nautical miles of all-electric range—corresponding to the distance between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn.
The objective of accomplishing this in several steps is to test and gather knowledge about electrical operation along the way. If the project is successful, battery operation may also be applicable to other vessels in the Stena Line fleet.
The technical solutions are being developed together with Stena Teknik, which cooperates with the academic world, authorities and various suppliers. The first phase of the project is supported and financed by half by the Swedish Transport Administration and the EU.
The batteries are charged when the ship is connected to shore power, which is also an important focus area on clean energy, but can also be charged by the ship’s generators.
Sustainability is very high on our agenda and we are constantly evaluating new ways to reduce our impact on the environment. From 2015, for example, methanol is part of the fuel mix on Stena Germanica, which operates between Gothenburg and Kiel, and we also run around 300 different energy saving projects. As both the size and cost of batteries decrease, battery operation becomes a very exciting alternative to traditional fuels for shipping, as emissions to air can be completely eliminated.
—Niclas Mårtensson, Stena Line CEO
The mention of methanol fuel on the sister ship led me to this:
http://www.motorship.com/news101/engines-and-propulsion/second-methanol-engine-for-stena-germanica
Turns out the engines still use petroleum ("MGO", marine gas oil) for pilot ignition (this is where the 95% MeOH/5% MGO figures come from); whether the methanol is carbureted or direct-injected is not stated, but I suspect the latter from the way the plumbing is set up. This also explains why the reduction in SOx is 99% and not 100%. If the engines were converted to spark ignition they could get rid of the MGO.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 10 June 2018 at 07:23 AM
Ships are such gross polluters that any move to clean energy and away from fossil fuels is welcomed.
Posted by: Lad | 10 June 2018 at 03:15 PM
The Stena Germanica uses the Wärtsilä Z40S engine modifications using a fuel injector capable of distributing two separate fuels individually (reference:http://marinemethanol.com/technology/in-practice). The methanol is injected at TDC with 3 injectors for MeOH Injection and one for Pilot Diesel
Injection (reference: International Conference “GREEN TRANSPORTATION 2016” , http://www.ashrae.gr/GrT2016/GrT2016_Yfantis.pdf).
Posted by: Account Deleted | 11 June 2018 at 08:25 AM