Japanese Companies Install Hybrid Power Supply System On Solar-Power-Assisted Vessel

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Lines) announced on May 17, 2011, that in June it will start shipboard verification tests of a hybrid power supply system it has been jointly developing with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI), the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI), and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). The system will be installed on NYK's solar-power-assisted car carrier, Auriga Leader (60,213 gross tons).

Auriga Leader has been verifying the generating performance and durability of its solar panels for about two years since its launch on December 19, 2008. The results have shown difficulties in supplying stable power due to fluctuations in power output. The shipboard tests aim to demonstrate that the hybrid power supply system, which employs a Gigacell® nickel hydrogen battery, developed for vessels by KHI, stabilizes the generating conditions of solar power. By charging and discharging a battery, the system smoothes out fluctuations in power generated by the solar panels and minimizes fluctuations of required output from a diesel power generator.

Using the test results, NYK and MTI aim to develop a larger-scale solar power generation system, while KHI will seek to commercialize the hybrid power supply system for vessels. This project has been subsidized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under the "Support for Technology Development for Curtailing CO2 from Marine Vessels" program.

Partially Solar-Powered Vessel Sets Out on Test Run (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/028944.html
First Japanese-Made Ballast Water Management System to Be Put into Commercial Use (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030216.html
Japanese Manufacturer Tests Railway Battery System on New York City Subway (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030302.html

Posted: 2011/08/14 06:00:15 AM