Dutch maritime photo voltaic innovator Wattlab has delivered a photo voltaic vitality system for HGK Delivery’s inland transport cargo vessel Blue Marlin. In what’s offered as a big technical milestone for sustainable inland transport, the vessel’s 192 photo voltaic panels will present energy to each the onboard and propulsion programs, making the Blue Marlin the primary inland transport vessel on the earth able to hybrid crusing with solar energy.
HGK Delivery is a European inland waterway transport firm working a fleet of 350 vessels. With annual freight figures within the area of 43 million tonnes, HGK Delivery is taken into account to be a number one participant in European dry bulk, fuel and chemical transport. Wattlab, which can also be lively within the seagoing transport trade, brings broad maritime expertise to this pioneering mission.
Wattlab has labored beforehand with HGK Delivery. In Q2 2024, HGK’s 135-metre lengthy dry cargo vessel MS Helios made headlines – and entered The Guinness E-book of Data – for having the world’s largest photo voltaic panel set up on an inland transport vessel. The MS Helios is provided with 312 photo voltaic panels.
The photo voltaic vitality programs of the Helios and the Blue Marlin differ in a single important side. In contrast to the Helios, the place photo voltaic vitality was used solely for low-voltage onboard (resort) programs, the Blue Marlin contains a extra superior, absolutely built-in system able to contributing energy on to the ship’s excessive voltage electrical propulsion.
It is a technical milestone mentioned Wattlab co-founder and COO David Kester. “The Blue Marlin’s 192 photo voltaic panels are usually not solely linked to the low-voltage onboard programs but in addition to the high-voltage propulsion community. Because of this HGK Delivery can proudly state that they’re the primary inland transport firm to function a vessel that makes use of solar energy straight for propulsion.”
Vitality administration positive aspects
Delivering as much as 35 kilowatts, the Blue Marlin’s solar energy system will function along with 4 diesel turbines powering the electrical propulsion system. The setup permits ‘peak shaving’, the place the mixture of photo voltaic vitality and batteries will stop the necessity for activating an extra generator throughout high-demand durations. “The system’s automated vitality administration will distribute electrical vitality the place and when it’s required, growing effectivity and lowering gasoline consumption,” mentioned a press launch.
“Moreover, in conditions the place the ship is frivolously loaded and travelling downstream, we anticipate that it might even sail utilizing solely solar energy for restricted durations—an unprecedented achievement within the inland transport sector,” mentioned Kester.
Incremental advance
He steered a big technical milestone had already been reached with the development of the Helios, and the Blue Marlin represents an extra advance by additionally utilizing photo voltaic vitality for the facility practice. “It makes one other essential contribution to creating transport, which is already a low-emission mode of transport, much more sustainable”, mentioned Tim Gödde, Director Ship Administration at HGK Ship Administration Lux Sà rl.
Set up of the Blue Marlin’s photo voltaic panels came about at De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard, with Wattlab cooperating intently with Blommaert Aluminium and Van Tiem Electro. “We’ve got been working with these companions for a while now – on a number of vessels – so have managed to essentially optimise the processes. The Blue Marlin is a new-build vessel; it took about one week for set up adopted by just a few days for commissioning,” mentioned Kester. “Contemplating a similar-sized retrofit mission, we estimate {that a} shipowner can be taking a look at a downtime of no a couple of week.”
This mission additionally marks a broader evolution in maritime decarbonization methods, mentioned the group. As regulatory strain will increase and gasoline costs fluctuate, shipowners and operators wish to diversify their vitality combine. Wattlab’s scalable photo voltaic options are proving their viability not solely on inland waterways, but in addition on coastal and seagoing vessels.
