Green Marine UK announces the initiative to retrofit CTVs, or “crew transfer vessels” with new hydrogen fuel cell and battery technologies, in an effort to reduce emissions from offshore wind farm activities.
Modernization of CTV
The Verdant Project has achieved “Approval in Principle”(AiP) from RINA, one of the world’s most recognized maritime classification societies. This included a preliminary design and feasibility study, which have been deemed successful. It also sets the stage for future phases focused on design development, engineering and sea trials, ensuring that the technology can be applied safely and effectively.
[post_relacionado]This project is led by Green Marine UK and funded by Innovate UK, with the participation of Waves Group, a marine consultancy, and EMEC, the European Marine Energy Centre. Together, they have developed a conceptual design that integrates hydrogen fuel cells with electric motors, allowing traditional diesel engines to be shut down when CTVs are operating at low speed, thus minimizing carbon emissions during wind farm service.
The design and technical modeling has been supported by Energys, a company with expertise in hydrogen systems for marine applications, while Engineered Marine Systems(EMS) has provided expertise in the battery room design, based on its previous knowledge of hybrid CTVs.
Hybrid systems for future technologies
Projections suggest that implementation of the hybrid system could reduce CO₂ emissions from ships by up to 30% and NOx emissions by up to 40%. This is particularly relevant given that CTVs often operate in standby mode for long periods, which represents a great opportunity to improve their efficiency and reduce their environmental impact.
Green Marine UK managing director Jason Schofield has cited the importance of this approval, noting that it provides the confidence needed for CTVs to operate safely in UK waters, complying with current regulations and safety standards set by RINA. This approval allows the company to move forward to the next phase of the project, which includes detailed design and field implementation.
The aim is to capture enough operational information from a retrofitted vessel to enable Green Marine UK to expand its fleet with new-build CTVs and SOVs (service operating vessels), all of which are zero-emission, representing a key move towards sustainability in the sector.
The Verdant Project
This program has been recognized not only for its technical advances, but also for its potential to transform the offshore industry. According to estimates from the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC) project, the offshore wind support sector could be worth £26 billion by 2050, and it is projected that an additional 1,200 vessels will be needed to service the industry in the UK.
RINA UK wind and marine business development director David Lynch said the approval of the hydrogen-powered CTV ensures greener service maintenance. Patrizio Di Francesco, RINA’s director of special projects, emphasized the importance of having an approval framework such as AiP, which ensures a thorough analysis of innovative concepts not yet covered by traditional classification rules.
The impact of the Verdant Project is not limited to engineering; it has also been recognized in the industry, with Roberto Tuda, naval architect at Waves Group, receiving the“Innovator Award” at the Scottish Renewables Green Energy Awards for his contribution to the project. This award highlights the relevance of initiatives such as this in advancing the decarbonization of the maritime sector.
The global shipping sector is responsible for 940 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, equivalent to 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. The International Maritime Organization aims to reduce these emissions by 50% by 2050, and the UK has become the first nation to include international shipping emissions in its carbon budget, underlining the importance of projects such as Verdant in achieving these targets.
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Source and photo: Green Marine UK