Photo: Stillstrom
With an increasing number of operators in the maritime industry switching to hybrid-electric or battery-electric alternatives to conventional vessels, the demand for offshore charging solutions has also increased. A newly-developed offshore charging station for ships promises to fill the gap.
Maersk Supply Service, a subsidiary of the giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, specializing in advanced solutions for offshore energy sectors, has launched a new company that will provide electric charging services for various cargo ships and any other electrified floating assets. Named Stillstrom, which means “quiet power” in Danish, this early-stage spin-out will launch a groundbreaking product in the industry.
The Stillstrom full-scale offshore charging station is a power buoy that acts as a safe mooring spot, while supplying clean electric power. This allows offshore vessels to completely eliminate harmful emissions while they are idle. It can be deployed outside ports, energy islands, and various near-shore locations.
A pilot buoy will be tested towards the end of the year, by Maersk Supply Service and Orsted, one of the major offshore wind power suppliers. The trials will take place at one of Orsted’s wind farms in the North Sea, where the Stillstrom system will supply overnight power to Service Operation Vessels (SOV) and Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) operating at the farm.
At the moment, these are the largest types of vessels that can be charged by the full-scale buoy. But the design is scalable, so that future versions can be adapted to supply power to even bigger ships. This will allow hybrid-electric vessels to turn off their engines while being idle, which adds up to significant cuts in harmful emissions. In fact, Stillstrom claims that it will remove 5.5 million tons of CO2, in addition to eliminating particulate matter, within five years of its product becoming commercially operational.
Both Maersk Supply Service and Orsted are committed to achieving climate-neutral operation by the end of this decade. With the help of the Stillstrom offshore charging solution, others in the industry will be able to do so as well.
The Stillstrom full-scale offshore charging station is a power buoy that acts as a safe mooring spot, while supplying clean electric power. This allows offshore vessels to completely eliminate harmful emissions while they are idle. It can be deployed outside ports, energy islands, and various near-shore locations.
A pilot buoy will be tested towards the end of the year, by Maersk Supply Service and Orsted, one of the major offshore wind power suppliers. The trials will take place at one of Orsted’s wind farms in the North Sea, where the Stillstrom system will supply overnight power to Service Operation Vessels (SOV) and Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) operating at the farm.
At the moment, these are the largest types of vessels that can be charged by the full-scale buoy. But the design is scalable, so that future versions can be adapted to supply power to even bigger ships. This will allow hybrid-electric vessels to turn off their engines while being idle, which adds up to significant cuts in harmful emissions. In fact, Stillstrom claims that it will remove 5.5 million tons of CO2, in addition to eliminating particulate matter, within five years of its product becoming commercially operational.
Both Maersk Supply Service and Orsted are committed to achieving climate-neutral operation by the end of this decade. With the help of the Stillstrom offshore charging solution, others in the industry will be able to do so as well.
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