Alconza, Reduction of emissions in the marine sector ›

Reduction of emissions in the marine sector

Alconza is now established as a benchmark for electrical motors and generators in the marine, hydroelectrical, electromobility and industrial sector, due to the range of projects it is currently undertaking. It provides its customers with comprehensive flexible solutions for its whole range of electrical motors and generators and offers technical support, maintenance, original spares and training, throughout its product life cycle.

The marine sector plays an important role in terms of environmental responsibility and sustainability, and is expected to grow in the coming years due to the lack of and growing need worldwide for ships with installation capacity proportional to the size of Offshore windmills.

A wind farm installation vessel

Alconza has recently designed, manufactured and delivered four propulsion engines to Yaskawa Automation & Drives Corp, to equip an Offshore Wind installation vessel, built at the Pax Ocean shipyard for the Penta Ocean company in Japan.

These motors comply with the regulations of the NKK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai), Classification Society and provide up to 3000 kW each at 1200 rpm. This will provide the ship with high levels of reliability, efficiency and low fuel consumption, one of the most in-demand requirements for this type of ship.

A 132 metre long RoPax Ferry

In this case, the company will supply the electric propulsion motors, as well as the generators and other components for manoeuvring the RoPax-type ferry on the route between the towns of Heysham, in the north-west of England, and Douglas, in the Isle of Man (United Kingdom).

The boat, currently being built at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea, is a 132-metre long ferry, RoPax type, with capacity to carry roll-on cargo, both cars and lorries or large trailers.

The differentiating feature of these motors is their “Monoblock” type design, consisting of two totally independent stators, with their squirrel cages, in a system that provides high redundancy. They are notable for their reliability, efficiency and low operating costs, characteristics deemed key to the achievement of this project.

The generators to be installed are low voltage (due to the Wartsila Low Cross Concept (LLC) and they offer high electric power and current values, a major challenge for design and manufacture.

The first electric high-speed ferry

It is also participating in the TrAM project, a European initiative for the design and manufacture of the first electric highspeed ferry, which will operate in Europe. This project is revolutionary due to its condition of zero emissions technology and manufacturing based on advanced modularisation, where weight and volume optimisation are two key aspects.

Led by the Norwegian mobility company Kolumbus, with the participation of major companies in the sector such as Wärtsilä, Fjellstrand and Servogear, Alconza is designing and manufacturing the electric motors which will propel the ferry. These are two high-efficiency, low-weight permanent magnet synchronous motors.

This strategic project is funded by the European Union through its Horizon 2020 programme and is part of the plan of strategic measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to reduce total annual GHG emissions by at least minus 50% by 2050 compared to 2008.

Under the name “Medstraum”, this first demonstrator will be operational in 2022 and will connect the Norwegian cities of Stavanger and Hommersåk for passenger transport. It will also be used as a reference for the following two case studies with the same type of vessel: passenger transport on the River Thames (London) and freight transport on Belgian canals. Its maximum navigation speed will be 23 knots (equivalent to approximately 43 km / h) and it will be able to carry up to 150 passengers.