Power Technologies News

The U.S. Navy's efforts to build a fleet of unmanned vessels are faltering because the Pentagon remains wedded to big shipbuilding projects, according to some officials and company executives, exposing a weakness as sea drones reshape naval warfare.The lethal effectiveness of sea drones has been demonstrated in the Black Sea where Ukraine has deployed remote-controlled speed boats packed with explosives to sink Russian frigates and minesweepers since late 2022.Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have employed similar vessels against commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months…

Seattle shipyard Snow & Company has launched a new 15-meter hybrid catamaran research vessel that will be operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.The plug-in hybrid research vessel, Resilience, will be delivered to the Department of Energy's (DOE) PNNL-Sequim marine research facility in 2024.The Incat Crowther designed vessel, equipped with both standard diesel engines and electric motors, will be the first hybrid vessel in the DOE fleet. The vessel will be powered by an advanced parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $10 million for seven projects that will accelerate development and testing of marine energy technologies. These investments advance research on wave-powered technology for use in seawater desalination and support a feasibility study for a potential ocean current test facility. “Marine energy technologies have incredible potential to provide clean electricity as well as clean water,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

GEFO Shipping Group earlier this year put into service its newbuild diesel-electric hybrid inland tanker Canaletto.Shift Clean Energy, working in partnership with Gebhard Electro and Werkina Werkendam, fit the ship with 157.5 kWh of Shift’s energy storage system, significantly reducing emissions and improving performance. Shift’s ESS will primarily be used for peak shaving and optimizing the power management’s capability to use the variable speed generators feeding the DC grid.

ORPC, an marine renewable energy developer whose power systems harness the energy of free-flowing rivers and tides, has signed a contract with Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program to initiate a Modular RivGen Power System demonstration project in the Lower Mississippi River.The collaborative project represents an opportunity to showcase how the next generation of ORPC’s hydrokinetic technology can provide predictable baseload electricity to help decarbonize onshore assets.

Danfoss Power Solutions’ Editron division has been chosen by the Pacific Power Group and Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company to provide the drivetrain system powering the U.S. Department of Energy’s first hybrid-electric research vessel. Due to enter operation in February 2023, the vessel will be used by PNNL-Sequim.The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a research center specializing in research advancing sustainable energy through decarbonization and energy storage.

A methane oxidation catalyst system developed by Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), and Yanmar Power Technologies Co. (YPT) has received approval in principle (AIP) from classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).The system reduces methane slip by placing a methane oxidation catalyst in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel engine and oxidizing the methane. This is the first time in the world that a methane oxidation catalyst system has received…

With the advent of autonomy on and under the water, part of the value proposition is the ability to stay at sea, on station, to exponentially increase efficiencies. Have the ability to repower at sea is central to this effort, as an increasing number of companies work to solve the inherent technical and logistic problems.Columbia Power Technologies (C-Power) is commencing a six-month sea trial to test and validate its SeaRAY autonomous offshore power system (AOPS), in partnership with a pair of powerhouses: the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. NavyInitially conceived during a U.S.

Finnish technology company Norsepower, along with project partners Maersk Tankers, Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd., announced successful trial results of two Norsepower Rotor Sails onboard the Maersk Tankers product tanker, Maersk Pelican.The Rotor Sails are large, cylindrical mechanical sails that spin to create a pressure differential, the Magnus Effect, that propels the vessel forward; in this instance a Maersk Tankers’ Long Range 2 (LR2) product tanker vessel, said the company.The Rotor Sails deliver auxiliary wind propulsion to the vessel - which have operated in conditions ranging from tropical climate to arctic conditions in Europe…

For Marine Technology Reporter's (MTR) 14th Annual "MTR100" - a look at 100 innovators and technologies in the subsea space - MTR editor-at-large Elaine Maslin reports on five companies and technologies that are worth the watch for the remainder of 2019 and beyond. For the full edition, see https://magazines.marinelink.com/nwm/MarineTechnology/201907/Blue Logic: Entering a new eraCompletely new modes of operation are entering the underwater domain for oil and gas operations and…

Happy 80th birthday Maritime Reporter & Engineering News! Eighty years is a significant publishing and business accomplishment!Birthdays always cause a look back. An 80-year review starts in 1939, the close of one very challenging decade, the start of events still reverberating today. History’s most important history is contained in the last 80 years.Energy dominated every one of those decades. Consider energy use, say, starting after World War II, from 1950 to 1975. There was power for everything…

US-owned renewable energy company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) announced that the Company's PB3 PowerBuoy deployed in the Adriatic Sea has produced more than one MegaWatt-hour (MWh) cumulative energy to date. The cost-effective ocean energy solutions provider said that the PowerBuoy has been deployed for six months, operating continuously and error-free while being controlled remotely from OPT’s NJ facility.George H. Kirby, OPT’s President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are excited to announce this major power generation milestone for our PB3 PowerBuoy deployed in the Adriatic Sea. Since the contract began in March of last year…

As Chinese ports, shipping lines and authorities strive to reduce emissions from shipping, Cavotec's  shore power technologies are helping achieve this goal.Cavotec engineers recently commissioned a self-propelled, battery-powered shore power solution, Cavortec AMPMobile, at the Taiiwan cruise terminal at the Chinese Port of Shenzhen. The unit’s batteries are charged while it connects vessels to the grid. Two other cruise terminals, Wusong in Shanghai and Qingdao in Shangdong…

A battery-powered AMPMobile unit connects a ship to shore power at Shenzhen cruise terminal. As ports, shipping lines, and authorities in China strive to reduce emissions from shipping, our innovative shore power technologies are playing a key role in delivering substantive change. As highlighted in a recent Cruise Industry News report, China could ultimately be the world’s largest cruise market. The development of cruise berths at Chinese ports continues at a rapid pace. With a view to mitigating environmental impact…

As the proliferation of LNG use spreads rapidly in the maritime and energy sectors, word from China is that Wison Offshore & Marine has signed an MoU with  Shanghai Electric Power Generation Group, on a joint effrot to develop medium to large-scale floating LNG power generation barges. Wison brings a wealth of experience and integration capability in floating LNG facilities, while Shanghai Electric is a leader in core gas power equipment and EPC services for international power projects. Based on the Floating LNG Storage Regasification and Power Generation (FSRP) solution developed by Wison earlier on, both parties will join forces to build up capabilities throughout FSRP project life cycle from product development…

Rolls-Royce. The words have been used by many to signify excellence – though not with the company’s permission, of course. Rolls-Royce Marine is taking a leading position in developing and introducing the systems and technologies needed for the running of a successful business in the maritime industry of the 21st century. At a company presentation held in London earlier this year, Mikael Mäkinen, President of Rolls-Royce Marine, outlined the company’s vision for the future and its strategies to put these new systems based on new technologies into place.

ABS has published the ABS Advisory on Hybrid Electric Power Systems to help marine and offshore owners and operators make decisions about energy generation and storage. “ABS continues to lead industry safety with the first comprehensive Advisory to address the latest hybrid electric power technologies,” said ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki. With the increased industry focus on environmental compliance and operational performance, many owners and operators…

LNG? Methanol as fuel? Hybrid systems? Tier 4? Reducing noise? Cutting emissions without crushing fuel economy? Marine News readers have questions and Bob Kunkel has answers. Kunkel, President of Alternative Marine Technologies, previously served as the Federal Chairman of the Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program under the Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2008. A past Vice President of the Connecticut Maritime Association, he is a contributing writer for Maritime Professional and Marine News. A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Kunkel sailed as a licensed engineer and eventually continued his career in ship construction at NASSCO, San Diego, Hyundai Heavy Industries, S. Korea, Chengxi Shipyard and Dalian New Shipyard in China.

As a part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the U.S. Energy Department today announced the selection of three pioneering offshore wind demonstrations to receive up to $47 million each over the next four years to deploy innovative, grid-connected systems in federal and state waters by 2017. These projects – located off the coast of New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia – will help speed the deployment of more efficient offshore wind power technologies. Building…

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc., announced today that the PB40 PowerBuoy(R) fabricated for the WavePort Project has shipped from Santander, Spain to Bayonne, NJ with the intent to deploy off the coast of New Jersey in the first quarter of 2015. The PowerBuoy is expected to arrive around mid-November and having been disassembled for transport, will require re-assembly, final checkout and permits before deployment. The PowerBuoy was fabricated with partial funding and support provided under the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme and, after evaluation of several sites, New Jersey was selected as the best location for deployment. Final assembly and checkout was completed in Spain, ownership transferred to OPT per the contract and the buoy departed Santander on October 7.

Lockheed Martin says it has signed a contract with Victorian Wave Partners Ltd. to begin developing the world’s largest wave energy project yet. The 62.5-megawatt peak power wave energy generation project will be built off the coast of Victoria, Australia, using Ocean Power Technologies' (OPT) PowerBuoy® wave energy converter technology. The company’s PowerBuoy wave generation technology uses a "smart," ocean-going buoy to convert wave energy into low-cost, clean electricity. The buoy moves up and down with the rising and falling of waves.

Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup on Thursday unveiled ambitious plans for congestion-beating smart systems for cargo movement and an all-out push to achieve energy resilience for port operations with wind turbines, solar cells and other clean technologies, in his first-ever “State of the Port” address. Speaking to a record audience of nearly 900 at the Long Beach Convention Center’s Pacific Ballroom, Slangerup summed up the Port of Long Beach’s achievements in 2014 then gave his expectations for 2015 and beyond, setting high goals for himself and the Port. Slangerup’s address followed welcoming comments by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond and Harbor Commission Vice President Rich Dines.

In his first-ever State of the Port address, Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup on Thursday unveiled plans for congestion-beating smart systems for cargo movement and an all-out push to achieve energy resilience for port operations with wind turbines, solar cells and other clean technologies. Speaking to an audience of nearly 900 at the Long Beach Convention Center’s Pacific Ballroom, Slangerup summed up the Port of Long Beach’s achievements in 2014 then gave his expectations for 2015 and beyond, setting high goals for himself and the port.