Wärtsilä to Install Hybrid System on LNG-Powered Offshore Vessel

Wärtsilä has signed an agreement with Eidesvik Offshore to install a hybrid system on board of its vessel Viking Princess, which runs on four LNG-powered Wärtsilä engines, to reduce the number of generators on board. The new energy storage solution will improve engine efficiency, generating fuel savings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Viking Princess provides supplies to oil rigs in the North Sea and Barents Sea. The new energy storage solution replaces one of the vessel’s four generators and can provide balancing energy to cover the peaks, resulting in a more stable load on the engines. The technology is similar to that in hybrid cars: it keeps the engine load from dipping and re-routs the surplus to charge a battery, which in turn can fill in when needed.

As the operating profile of supply vessels is variable, Wärtsilä says there is significant potential for fuel savings through improved engine efficiency. In the dynamic positioning mode, when the battery is used as power redundancy and the engine runs at its most efficient load, the fuel saving potential is 30 percent. Consequently, the Viking Princess may cut CO2 emissions by 13 to 18 percent per year, depending on the operating conditions.