Enabling technologies for sustainable all — Electric hybrid vessels (Invited paper)

The global marine fleets have been reported to consume approximately 300 million tons of fuel annually and contribute 2.8% of global greenhouse gases emissions (GHG). It is widely projected that the numbers will continue to grow, predominantly driven by the increase in global trades and energy demand from emerging countries. In recent years, enabling technologies, such as hybrid electrical propulsion system and advanced power management strategies, have been developed and introduced to the marine industries not only to reduce fuel consumption, but also to adhere to the increasingly stringent regulations on emissions by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Such technologies are especially critical for vessels that operate in the water near urban areas, such as ferries and tugs, which may contribute up to 15% of the global marine fleet fuel consumption. In this paper, the design and integration of hybrid electrical propulsion systems, with the use of modern DC distribution and energy storage systems, will be discussed and compared to conventional systems. The benefits of hybrid all-electric power and propulsion system in terms of fuel and energy consumption, emission reduction, performance, as well as system redundancy are presented in this paper.