Technology Demonstration News

An offshore wind hub is coming to the site of the former Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana as the region ramps up to service the growing renewable energy industry in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.New Orleans-based Gulf Wind Technology (GWT) announced Monday it is collaborating with energy supermajor Shell to establish a research, training and technology demonstration program at GWT’s facility within the Avondale Global Gateway in Jefferson Parish.The news comes after the Biden administration…

Once again, the events of the last month have shown that the drive to grow the U.S. offshore wind segment has lost little steam. The foundations are firmly in place to support the deployment of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050.Floating wind farm technology demonstration projects are being developed for both Atlantic and Pacific coasts as a precursor to large-scale floating wind farm projects being constructed towards the end of the decade and beyond.

Once again, the events of the last month have shown that the impetus to continue to grow the U.S. offshore wind segment has lost little steam. The foundations are firmly in place to support the deployment of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050.Attractive federal incentives are being put in place to promote offshore wind projects and the development of renewable hydrogen projects, which are ideal for pairing with offshore wind projects. Local supply chain…

The events of the last month have shown that, despite some negative factors, the impetus to continue to grow the U.S. offshore wind segment has lost little steam. The foundations are firmly in place to support the deployment of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050.Two major outer continental shelf (OCS) projects with around 940 megawatts (MW) of capacity have reached final investment decision (FID) and have commenced onshore construction.The number of…

A newly signed initiative is set to provide pilot projects to demonstrate technical solutions for biofouling management in developing countries, address the transfer of invasive aquatic species and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.The TEST (Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies) Biofouling Project will run for four years (2022-2025), following an agreement signed on December 8 by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä said it is set to launch a new engine combustion technology platform designed to enable the "fast and cost-effective" conversion of two-stroke main engines to operate on clean-burning future fuels.The company's Two-Stroke Future Fuels Conversion platform is due for commercial launch during the first quarter of 2022, as the maritime industry continues to work toward decarbonized shipping operations.The retrofit conversion will initially enable operation with liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel…

Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, said it has been awarded a multi-year Other Transaction (OT) agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP).Under this OT agreement, Sea Machines will engineer…

The world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, built to ship large quantities cryogenically frozen H2 internationally, was launched by Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) at it's Kobe Works yard.The Suiso Frontier (‘suiso’ means ‘hydrogen’ in Japanese) will play a key role in the Shell-backed HySTRA demonstration project (CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-Chain Technology Research Association), which will see large quantities of H2 produced from brown coal in Australia and then shipped 9,000km to the city of Kobe in Japan.This vessel was developed to provide a means of transporting liquefied hydrogen at 1/800 of its original gas-state volume…

WORK Microwave has announced the results of its technology demonstration with Intellian and Telesat to increase the reliability, performance, and throughput of broadband for maritime applications. Recently, the companies successfully tested a high-throughput data link from Mount Jackson, Virginia to Pompano Beach, Florida using WORK Microwave's AX-80 wideband modem, the Intellian v150NX 1.5m Ka-band wideband antenna, and the Telesat T19 VANTAGE High Throughput Satellite (HTS).

India's Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has launched two Ro Pax vessels designed and built for Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).The vessels launched at present are the third and fourth vessels in the series of 10 vessels order from IWAI, said the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India.Cochin Shipyard is building a total of 8 Nos. Ro Pax vessels and 2 Nos Ro-Ro vessels for Inland Waterways Authority of India.IWAI nominated CSL for the construction of these vessels, which will be operated in strategic locations in National Waterways 1&2. These vessels can accommodate around 200 passengers and will have 8 crews and can carry 2 trucks and 4 cars.

The Alameda County Transportation Commission has received $12.45 million from the California Transportation Commission for the implementation of the Freight Intelligent Transportation System (FITS) program at the Port of Oakland.FITS includes 15 freight technology demonstration projects designed to address traffic management, security systems and roadway improvements at the Oakland seaport. The funding comes from California Senate Bill 1 funds.The Port said FITS will reduce congestion and improve traffic flow for truckers who haul cargo containers in and out of Oakland. It will also update security systems and provide a common communication platform for first responders…

Dr. Lorry Wagner has served as president of the Cleveland-based Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) since May of 2010.LEEDCo is the public private partnership behind the effort to construct Icebreaker Wind, a 6 turbine 20.7 megawatt offshore wind energy demonstration project in Lake Erie, 8 miles off the shore of Cleveland. LEEDCo has received funding from the U.S. DOE under its Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects award and has partnered with Fred. Olsen Renewables of Norway. Dr.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has confirmed the successful launch of two satellites, NovaSAR-1, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, and SSTL S1-4, a high resolution optical Earth Observation satellite. The two satellites were launched into a 580km sun-synchronous orbit on board the PSLV launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India on 16 September at UTC 16:38 by Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation.Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL, said “I am pleased to confirm that successful contact has been made with both satellites and they are in good health.

SCA’s Matt Paxton weighs in on the state of domestic shipbuilding – workboat building & everything in between. As President of the Shipbuilders Council of America, the national trade association representing the U.S. shipyard industrial base, we are constantly evaluating the status of the nation’s commercial vessel building and repair base. American shipyards continue to build to the highest standards for diverse range of customers. These vessels built by American workers go on to serve an integral part to our national economic well-being and basic security responsibilities.

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  with the government of India for the ongoing fiscal under which targets agreed are in line with aggressive growth plans of the public sector firm. "CSL has signed a MoU with the Government of India for the financial year 2016-17," Ministry of Shipping said in a statement. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Shri Rajive Kumar, Secretary Shipping and Shri Madhu S Nair, Chairman & Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard Limited, at New Delhi. The MoU broadly consists of the performance evaluation parameters and targets for Cochin Shipyard for the ensuing year.

For the US energy industry, 2014 will be remembered as the year when crude oil prices fell below 50$/bbl, resulting in significant realignments in the sector. Aside from the oil price collapse and the historic high of domestic natural gas production, several other energy records were set last year. Both solar and wind energy production reached an all-time high in the US, contributing to a record 9.8% of total primary energy supply. The US is ranked the second largest producer of wind energy. With more than 65 GW installed capacity in 39 states, wind energy represented over 4% of national power generation in 2014. Annual installations peaked in 2012 when some 13 GW of new capacity came online.

Naval District Washington (NDW) testing a Energy Management System (CEMS) in Washington Navy Yard building. Testing of the CEMS in Building 101 is expected to last through April 2013, and CEMS building management is expected to last until April 2014. CEMS is an NDW-sponsored technology demonstration designed to evaluate the effectiveness of intelligent occupancy-based building automation strategies to achieve energy savings. CEMS will manage building lighting and environmental conditioning systems based on the presence or absence of building occupants to optimize energy usage. CEMS works by leveraging existing industrial control system and access control capabilities to automate the control of energy-consuming building infrastructures such as lighting…

Passport Systems, Inc. has began construction on a non-intrusive, cargo inspection facility at the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), Port of Boston, Conley Container Terminal in South Boston which is designed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of cargo screening at the Port. Passport Systems' SmartScan 3D automated cargo inspection system can detect, locate and identify contraband at ports and border crossings around the globe as well as automatically clear or confirm alarms. Dr. Robert J.

Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe-joining systems, is exhibiting its line of IACS-approved products that they say reduce the need for vessel maintenance and help make maintenance quicker, simpler and safer at Marine Maintenance World Expo 2013. On show at stand no. 1020 will be a selection of rigid and flexible couplings, fittings and accessories that reduce the time and space needed for piping system installation, and allow easier access for repair and maintenance.

Since the first deployment of in-situ monitoring instrumentation, biofouling has been a problem. Without an effective solution, people have historically had to accept the limits biofouling imposes on ocean sensing work, with significant repercussions. When instrumentation is deployed in-situ, the value of the data taken during the deployment corresponds with the longevity: information gleaned from a longer deployment is often more useful than information from one of a shorter term.

The Port of Pittsburgh Commission seeks local companies and individuals to participate in its Wireless Waterway (WW) Interoperability Test Bed (ITB) the week of June 15, 2014. The commission is accepting applications through April 1, 2014 from interested entrepreneurs, organizations and vendors to conduct demonstrations of technologies and products on the WWITB. In addition it seeks volunteers both to act as professional evaluators and to assist in the operations of the event. The commission established this test bed to help identify technologies which addressed critical river water challenges in the areas of river transportation, communications, environment, safety, sensor, communications, cyber-security, collaboration and interoperability.

As the Voice of Spill Response Professionals, the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA) is supporting and assisting with the planning and coordination of IOSC 2014 on May 5-8 in Savannah, Ga. SCAA encouraged all members to attend IOSC, submit technical papers, volunteer as technical paper review team members and demonstrate equipment technologies. The centerpiece of SCAA's support during this year's Conference is working with the U.S. Coast Guard IOSC Program Planning Committee and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to develop and facilitate the On-Water and Aerial Technology Demonstration schedule for 5 p.m. on May 7.

The government controlled Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Saturday conducted the maiden test flight of the second prototype of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas naval variant here. "The second LCA naval prototype (NP2) was flown for the first time for 35 minutes, giving a major fillip to the Tejas program. Efforts of our aircraft research and design center’s engineers on the complex landing gear design made the flight possible, as it is different from the air force version," HAL chairman T. Suvarna Raju said in a statement. Indian Navy test pilot Captain Shivnath Dahiya flew the twin-seater fighter plane under telemetry control provided by National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) director Commander J.D. Raturi and its chief test pilot Commodore J.A.