Demonstrator project to use wind farm energy to power hybrid and electric ships at sea.

Grant funding has been awarded to a coalition of UK pioneers in green technology to install the world’s first offshore charging station within a UK wind farm.

A portion of the Department of Transport and Innovate UK’s £60 million Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition provided the funding (CMDC). Oasis Marine has collaborated with Turbo Power Systems, Volume, and ORE Catapult to create the world’s most advanced Offshore Charging Station. This intelligent energy storage and charging infrastructure will enable electric-only maritime operations in offshore wind farms.

Throughout the two-year project, offshore charging infrastructure for hybrid and electric crew transfer vessels (CTVs) will be developed and demonstrated in two phases.

The first will demonstrate energy transfer using Verlume’s battery and intelligent energy management technology to charge a vessel at sea using the Oasis Power Buoy.

During the second phase, the project will collaborate with Vattenfall on technical and regulatory advancements to achieve an on-turbine demonstration at their European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay (pictured).

AC power generated by the existing wind turbines will be supplied to the Oasis Power Buoy via Turbo Power Systems’ high-power charging solution.

During the demonstration, a hybrid CTV would travel from Aberdeen Harbour to the wind farm, connecting to and recharging from the Oasis Power Buoy while technicians worked on the turbines in the field.

The range and duration over which electric and hybrid vessels can operate is a significant barrier to the decarbonization of the maritime sector. Currently, ships can only be charged in ports, and most wind farms are too far from the coast to enable battery-powered travel.

Enabling offshore charging from a zero-emission energy source will allow CTVs to operate on electric power most of the time, significantly reducing emissions and extending operational range.

The consortium stated that this innovative technology would allow for fully electric operation.

Hkan Borgstrom, deputy director of Vattenfall’s O&M product line, stated: “The electrification of vessels is a crucial requirement, and the charging infrastructure is a crucial component.” “Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre in Aberdeen is an ideal location for demonstrating the Oasis Power Buoy, and we can support its implementation with our expertise. “This is a significant step towards decarbonizing the wind farm’s logistics and part of our ongoing mission to provide fossil-free living within a generation.” Lauren Hadnum, manager of clean maritime at ORE Catapult, added: “In-field recharging is crucial to deploying more electric support vessels.”

“This project is an exciting demonstration of recharge at sea and integration with an operational wind farm.” “We are pleased to be able to support this SME-led initiative to deliver a CTV solution that is industry-ready by 2025.”

Crew transfer vessels will be the project’s primary focus, but the concept could also be scaled up for larger service operations vessel (SOV) daughter craft, an emerging vessel type whose numbers are expected to increase rapidly as wind farms move further from shore.