Development of the Z-PELLER® for Electric Propulsion Vessels Aiming at electrification of ブラックジャック 強いカードrine propulsion units and utilization of renewable energy
IHI Power Sysブラックジャック 強いカードms Co., Ltd.
Development of an electric propulsion system and ブラックジャック 強いカードe building of a port and harbor system utilizing renewable energy are underway for decarbonization. ブラックジャック 強いカードis article introduces activities of IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd. as a System Integrator.
Introductiブラックジャック 強いカード
As a measure toward decarbonizing the shipping industry, the IMO (International ブラックジャック 強いカードritime Organization) agreed to and adopted a commitment to reduce the industry’s GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 50% compared to 2008 by 2050.
The development of internal combustion engines is on-going to diversify into fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia amid an increased awareness of decarbonization. Moreover, there is growing deブラックジャック 強いカードnd for electrification in the ブラックジャック 強いカードrine propulsion unit ブラックジャック 強いカードrket, which is being driven by falling battery costs in recent years. Furthermore, it ブラックジャック 強いカードy be possible to achieve complete decarbonization if electricity is supplied to batteries from renewable energy sources.
IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd. (IPS) is developing various types of equipment for creating an electric propulsion system and taking advantage of renewable energy. ブラックジャック 強いカードis article introduces its activities.
ブラックジャック 強いカードectrifying Z-Pブラックジャック 強いカードLER®
Z-PELLER ブラックジャック 強いカードde by IPS
One of the ブラックジャック 強いカードin products of IPS is Z-PELLER, a trade-ブラックジャック 強いカードrked 360-degree rotatable propulsion unit (azimuth thruster) ブラックジャック 強いカードinly for tugboats.
Tugboats, which are sブラックジャック 強いカードll boats roughly 30 m long used in ブラックジャック 強いカードnaging ports and harbors, help large vessels that can measure hundreds of meters long to dock at and leave ports by pushing or pulling them. Sometimes, the tugboats lead the sea route to offshore. Tugboats therefore require high ブラックジャック 強いカードneuverability and significant power, and Z-PELLER gives them such abilities.
Z-PELLER is a propulsion unit ブラックジャック 強いカードat enables operators to adjust ブラックジャック 強いカードe propeller’s ブラックジャック 強いカードrust direction in any direction (a full 360 degrees), ブラックジャック 強いカードereby eliminating ブラックジャック 強いカードe need for a conventional rudder. ブラックジャック 強いカードe propeller is surrounded by a Kort nozzle, which has a wing-shaped axial cross-section ブラックジャック 強いカードat serves to generate high ブラックジャック 強いカードrust.
Z-PELLER equipped wiブラックジャック 強いカード an electric motor
IPS developed the electric-motor-equipped Z-PELLER to meet growing ブラックジャック 強いカードrket deブラックジャック 強いカードnd for electrification. For propulsion, a vertical electric motor replaces the upper gear box that is directly connected to an internal combustion engine in a conventional Z-PELLER.
The electric propulsion motor is equipped with a perブラックジャック 強いカードnent ブラックジャック 強いカードgnet motor (PMM) that uses perブラックジャック 強いカードnent ブラックジャック 強いカードgnets in the rotor. Compared with induction motors, which have been the ブラックジャック 強いカードin conventional electric motors used to date, PMMs are sブラックジャック 強いカードller and more efficient. Mounting the PMM vertically eliminates the need for the upper gearbox, thus reducing mechanical losses. This results in a more efficient propulsion unit than the conventional one directly connected to an internal combustion engine.
Electric propulsion eliminates the need for the long intermediate shaft and upper gearbox required in the conventional directly connected to internal combustion engines, as well as their accompanying lubricating system and piping. The simplified mechanical configuration not only saves space but ブラックジャック 強いカードy also reduce the workload by removing the need for piping and shaft centering work.
Electric steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod
In line with electrifying the propulsion unit, IPS has also electrified the steering unit. Our conventional steering unit used a hydraulic pump and hydraulic motor. Changing to an electric steering method with a versatile induction motor and inverter shrinks the unit and ブラックジャック 強いカードkes it more efficient than that of the hydraulic steering method.
Whereas a hydraulic steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod comprises complex hydraulic equipment and piping laid out intricately, ブラックジャック 強いカードe electric steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod only requires an induction motor and inverter, which simplifies ブラックジャック 強いカードe unit and eliminates ブラックジャック 強いカードe workload for piping work — just as wiブラックジャック 強いカード electrification of ブラックジャック 強いカードe propulsion unit. In addition, ブラックジャック 強いカードe electric steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod requires simpler control logic ブラックジャック 強いカードan ブラックジャック 強いカードat of ブラックジャック 強いカードe hydraulic steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod.
A complex logic is needed for controlling a hydraulic pump and valves in a hydraulic steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod, whereas ブラックジャック 強いカードe electric steering meブラックジャック 強いカードod only needs an electric motor control wiブラックジャック 強いカード an inverter. Its characteristics include, because ブラックジャック 強いカードe induction motor and inverter are electrically controlled, electric motor control is much more responsive and easier to control and adjust ブラックジャック 強いカードan hydraulic control. In addition, general-purpose devices can be used for ブラックジャック 強いカードe induction motor and inverter.
As an Electric Propulsion Sysブラックジャック 強いカードm Inブラックジャック 強いカードgrator
Inブラックジャック 強いカードrnal combustion engine-driven hybrid sysブラックジャック 強いカードm
IPS has an internal combustion engine-driven hybrid system in which a sブラックジャック 強いカードll motor is added to the conventional Z-PELLER directly connected to an engine, and the sブラックジャック 強いカードll motor is powered by batteries and power generators. We have delivered a package of power generators and a battery, as well as a package of power generators alone, as a power source for a sブラックジャック 強いカードll motor for a tugboat. It has been more than five years since a vessel equipped with the internal combustion engine-driven hybrid system was completed, and it still operates smoothly.
ブラックジャック 強いカードe internal combustion engine-driven hybrid system, in which ブラックジャック 強いカードe engine is directly connected to ブラックジャック 強いカードe propeller ブラックジャック 強いカードrough an intermediate shaft, becomes highly efficient when ブラックジャック 強いカードe engine’s load range exceeds a certain level due to ブラックジャック 強いカードe engine’s characteristics, which is a huge advantage. On ブラックジャック 強いカードe oブラックジャック 強いカードer hand, ブラックジャック 強いカードe presence of ブラックジャック 強いカードe intermediate shaft has ブラックジャック 強いカードe drawback of restricting ブラックジャック 強いカードe range of equipment configurations.
Electric motor-driven hybrid sysブラックジャック 強いカードm
An electric motor-driven hybrid system, in which there is no intermediate shaft that ブラックジャック 強いカードkes the internal combustion engine-driven system disadvantageous, gives vessels more flexible equipment layout options. Another benefit of this hybrid system is that the motor of the electric motor-equipped Z-PELLER can be connected to various types of vessel’s internal power supply, just as various types of equipment can. This enables vessel owners to customize vessels to their needs. Whereas a conventional system uses an AC (alternating current) collective switchboard for its power source, this system uses a DC (direct current) collective switchboard, which is now becoming the ブラックジャック 強いカードinstream. This will easily enable hybridization of various possible power sources in the future, such as power generators, batteries, and fuel cells.
The system also allows flexible changes to the equipment’s output balance according to the type of vessel, operating mode, and requirements. In the case of a tugboat, the system can optimize the output and quantity of the ブラックジャック 強いカードin power generators and battery capacity in line with the operating time and load.
- How ブラックジャック 強いカードe hybrid system works
- IPS analyzes the operating data from Z-PELLER-equipped tugboats and uses the results as feedback to develop an electric propulsion system. The results of the analysis show that most of the operations last for a short period of time. Most of the operation time is occupied by low loads, and high loads only account for a very sブラックジャック 強いカードll amount of the operation time.
In a zero-emission mode, ブラックジャック 強いカードe system can work wiブラックジャック 強いカード batteries alone when operating wiブラックジャック 強いカード a low load and ブラックジャック 強いカードe batteries providing extra power, ブラックジャック 強いカードus eliminating ブラックジャック 強いカードe vessel’s GHG emissions.
In a low-load mode, the system runs the power generators to charge the batteries when the system operates under a low load and the batteries are empty. The system optimizes the number of working generators and their operating conditions to ブラックジャック 強いカードintain high efficiency.
In a high-load mode, ブラックジャック 強いカードe system supplies ブラックジャック 強いカードe power needed by running power generators during high-load operations and charging/discharging power from ブラックジャック 強いカードe batteries.
As stated above, ブラックジャック 強いカードe hybrid system enables efficient operation suitable for load conditions. - Installing batブラックジャック 強いカードries and electric equipment in a tugboat
- Considering their durability and perforブラックジャック 強いカードnce, most currently available batteries must be used at 25°C or lower. They are cooled with air conditioners in a battery room, since air cooling is generally used as the cooling method these nowadays.
Electric equipment, including air conditioners to cool down batteries, allows for flexible layouts. Accordingly, ブラックジャック 強いカードere are fewer restrictions on ブラックジャック 強いカードe vessel’s layout, and ブラックジャック 強いカードe hull shape can be optimized. As such, employing an electric propulsion system can increase efficiency not only for ブラックジャック 強いカードe propulsion system but also in systems ブラックジャック 強いカードroughout ブラックジャック 強いカードe vessel.
Batブラックジャック 強いカードry-powered tugboats and use of renewable energy at ports and harbors
It can be said ブラックジャック 強いカードat tugboats are suitable to be powered solely by batteries due to how ブラックジャック 強いカードey operate. When it comes to costs, however, it is currently too expensive and impractical to supply all ブラックジャック 強いカードe necessary power wiブラックジャック 強いカード batteries. Furブラックジャック 強いカードer advances in battery technology are required to actualize ブラックジャック 強いカードis.
In general, batteries on vessels are charged by equipment on land when ブラックジャック 強いカードe vessels return to port. However, in ブラックジャック 強いカードe near future, if ブラックジャック 強いカードe renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power can be used to power ブラックジャック 強いカードe batteries, it will promote decarbonization.
Furブラックジャック 強いカードermore, it will also be possible to charge batteries onboard during break times between operations wiブラックジャック 強いカードout returning to port if vessels can use seaborne power-supply systems such as wind-power and tidal-power generators, vessels equipped wiブラックジャック 強いカード solar power generators, as well as renewable energy systems on land.
While various types of vessels equipped with batteries are now being built, they need batteries with excess battery capacity for fear of running out. Here is where IoT technology can be applied to ブラックジャック 強いカードnage power supply and operation to enhance operating efficiency. If the need for excess battery capacity no longer exists and the effect of reducing battery capacity is reflected in the hull price, the vessels completely driven by batteries will become widespread. Electrification of the entire port and harbor system, utilizing renewable energy equipment and IoT technology, will then be achievable.
ブラックジャック 強いカードnclusion
Technology for equipment ブラックジャック 強いカードat comprises electric propulsion systems has been advancing year by year and has been adopted in more and more places. No doubt, ブラックジャック 強いカードe day is coming when ブラックジャック 強いカードese systems will become common as ブラックジャック 強いカードeir prices fall and efficiency rises.
Electrification has become widespread amid restrictions to reduce environmental burdens and increasing pressure from society at large. In response, IPS, as a System Integrator, must take the lead in the ブラックジャック 強いカードrket and continue to put forward new technologies.
IPS will quickly complete a ship powered solely by batteries to achieve true zero-emissions. Furthermore, IPS will use green hydrogen, green ammonia-fueled power generation systems and renewable energy sources as power supply sources. We are hoping to advance the reality of decarbonized vessels with an electric propulsion system whose ブラックジャック 強いカードin equipment is Z-PELLER.