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Offshore charging buoy
Offshore charging buoy to reduce vessel emissions
MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE AND ØRSTED HAVE JOINED FORCES TO TEST A PROTOTYPE BUOY THAT WILL ACT AS BOTH A SAFE MOORING POINT AND CHARGING STATION FOR VESSELS, POTENTIALLY DISPLACING a significant amount of marine fuel with green electricity. The solution, developed by Maersk Supply Service, will be tested on one of Ørsted’s offshore windfarms in 2021.
Maersk Supply Service and Ørsted have formed a partnership to test an innovative charging buoy that can bring green electricity to offshore windfarm service vessels and likely to a wide range of maritime vessels. The buoy can be used to charge the smaller battery or hybrid-electrical vessels and supply power to larger vessels, enabling them to turn
The prototype buoy has been developed by Maersk Supply Service. Ørsted is responsible for the buoy’s integration with the electrical grid at the offshore windfarm.
The charging buoy can be used as a mooring point outside ports, in offshore windfarms, and in the vicinity of other offshore installations.
off their engines when laying idle. By substituting fossil-based fuels with green electricity, virtually all emissions are eliminated while the buoy is in use. The prototype buoy has been developed by Maersk Supply Service. Ørsted is responsible for its integration with the electrical grid at the offshore windfarm. The charging buoy will be tested in the second half of 2021, where it will supply overnight power to one of Ørsted’s service vessels.
Significant potential Upon technical validation and commercial ramp up, the electrical charging buoy has significant potential, short to medium term, to positively contribute to reducing emissions in the maritime industry. This will take place by displacing tens of thousands of tonnes of fuel consumed every year in the wider maritime sector by enabling inactive vessels to turn engines off and replace energy consumption and charge batteries with renewable electricity. Within five years of global operation, Maersk Supply Service has the ambition to remove 5.5 million tonnes of CO2, additionally avoiding particulate matter, mono-nitrogen oxides, and sulphur oxides. Ørsted intends to make any intellectual property generated in designing the integration of the buoy into the offshore wind asset publicly available so as to maximise the uptake potential of this carbon reduction innovation across the offshore wind sector.
Global scale solution As large parts of the global maritime fleet are getting ready to receive shore power in ports, the timing is now right for implementing this clean ocean-tech innovation. The charging buoy can be used as a mooring point outside ports, in offshore windfarms, and in the vicinity of other offshore installations. It will also further help to limit the increasing vessel congestions and remove air pollution in port areas. “The charging buoy tackles a multitude of problems such as lower emissions, offering a safe mooring point for vessels, improving the power efficiency, and eliminating engine noise. This solution can also be implemented and adapted on a global scale as the maritime industry moves towards hybridisation and electrification,” comments Jonas Munch Agerskov, Managing Director for Offshore Renewables at Maersk Supply Service. “Ørsted has set the ambitious target of having carbon neutral operations in 2025, which includes the operations of our offshore windfarms. Technical and commercial innovation is central to Ørsted’s ability to provide real, tangible solutions to achieve our operational ambitions – and we need our partners’ support. We are happy to team up with Maersk Supply Service to test this innovative charging buoy, which brings us a step closer to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy”, adds Mark Porter, Senior Vice President and Head of Operations at Ørsted Offshore.
EUDP grant Maersk Supply Service has for the demonstration phase of the project received one of the largest EUDP grants (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme, under the Danish Energy Agency) in 2020, securing EUR 3 million for the power buoy’s engineering and demonstration. The Danish Maritime Fund has provided initial cofinancing to conceptualise the project.
