Newly Developed Magnetic System Can Wirelessly Charge Electric Ships At Sea

Electric Vessels can now be charged at sea using a magnetic system, which is completely wireless, developed by a Norwegian research team, SINTEF, in collaboration with the shipbuilder Vard.

The Ocean Charger Project was built especially for service operation vessels catering to offshore wind farms and also platform supply vessels of the oil sector.

It took into consideration the environmental challenges of offshore charging and replaced traditional charging mechanisms with an encapsulated magnetic coil system rather than using metal plugs.

This system is safe, quick and hassle-free since it allows a ship to keep a distance from the charger.

Giuseppe Guidi, a senior research scientist at SINTEF, said that they undertook many tests and chose a solution that works like a regular electrical contact.

Powering a Ship Without Plugs

Usual plug-based systems can suffer from mechanical wear, corrosion and lead to higher maintenance expenses, which makes them an unreliable solution.

On the other hand, the new “plug-and-play” magnetic system uses inductive technology to recharge directly at sea through encapsulated coils, which neither require regular maintenance nor are resistant to corrosion, wear and tear.

It also does away with the need for electric vessels to make long trips back to ports for recharging since the task can be completed at sea, making offshore charging practical and efficient.

The system uses magnetic fields for transferring power to the electric vessels without the need of physical contact. The coils on both charging stations are made waterproof.

Conversion of Power At Multiple Stages

The concept, though wireless, depends on a chain of reactions which convert power through multiple stages or phases.

Electricity moves from high-voltage direct current into high-frequency magnetic fields before it is stabilised onboard the vessel.

Till now, battery-driven offshore vessels had to sail to a nearby port to recharge, which would also drain a substantial amount of battery.

The magnetic system changes this by installing the magnetic systems on offshore wind turbines or offshore substation hubs so ships can recharge where they work without having to return to port.

The researchers focused on developing a highly efficient design and carefully chose all the materials and components for the system to deliver high power through a compact surface.

Additionally, an inbuilt intelligent management system coordinates the entire process to minimise loss of energy while ships recharge.