Vard Electro will deliver its largest battery package to date for a vessel retrofit as the Norwegian shipowner proactively upgrades its fleet with hybrid power in pursuit of greener and safer operations with lower fuel costs.
The newly signed contract covers Vard Electro’s SeaQ Energy Storage System (ESS) with two battery packs and a DC link, which will be installed in the first quarter of 2022 on one of Siem Offshore’s subsea construction vessels lined up for work in the wind sector.
The system will enable the vessel to operate in fully electric mode with zero emissions while manoeuvring in harbour or other restricted areas and will deliver estimated fuel savings of up to 20%, according to Vard Electro Head of Commercial Sales, Gisle Anderssen.
The SeaQ ESS stores excess energy, either generated by the vessel or derived from shore connections with renewable power sources, to replace engines running on fossil-based fuels that drive propulsion and thruster systems.
“We are pleased to have won this contract with Siem Offshore and look forward to collaborating with them on this project as well as possible future deliveries.” – Gisle Anderssen, Head of Commercial Sales of Vard Electro
Enhanced responsiveness of propulsion and other systems due to instant power response in line with load variations, is particularly useful for offshore support vessels that are heavily dependent on DP systems for fast manoeuvrability in safety-critical situations, Anderssen explains.
The batteries for Siem Offshore will be supplied together with a DC grid for power distribution to consumers, with control and monitoring of the battery storage solution handled by the SeaQ Energy Management System (EMS) that interacts with existing control systems onboard.