RESEARCH & INNOVATION

position paper 15 - 2013

hybrid ships
DNV
RESEARCH &
INNOVATION
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RESEARCH AND
INNOVATION IN DNV
The objective of strategic research is
through new knowledge and services
to enable long term innovation and
business growth in support of the overall
strategy of DNV. Such research is carried
out in selected areas that are believed to
be of particular signicance for DNV in
the future. A Position Paper from DNV
Research and Innovation is intended
to highlight ndings from our research
programmes.
SUMMARY
Contact details:
Prepared by: Bjrn Johan Vartdal
The term hybrid comes from the latin
word ibrida which is the term for the
offspring between a tame sow and a
wild boar. The expression is used within
several elds. In biology it is used to
dene the offspring between two
different species. Such an offspring can
in some cases exhibit heterosis which
is the improved or increased function
of any biological quality in any hybrid
offspring. Heterosis is also the aim
when combining two technologies in
the power system of a ship in order
to create synergy effects, making the
resulting total better than the sum of
its constituent parts. The result is the
hybrid ship. Maize grown in most
developed countries exhibit
heterosis, substantially
outyielding conventional
corn
4
In this paper, a hybrid power system refers to a
power system which combines energy production, or
a prime mover, with energy storage capacity. Hybrid
power systems have been used for decades in several
industries and have received particular attention in
the power production and car industries. With a few
exceptions, such as submarines and solar powered
boats, hybrid power systems with storage capacity
have, until now, not been applied for ships. This is
likely due to the fact that the implementation of
large scale energy storage on ships has not been
considered practical and cost effective. However, due
to high fuel prices and focus on reduced emissions
combined with advances in technology for energy
storage and the increased popularity of diesel
electric propulsion, the introduction of hybrid power
systems on ships can now be practical, performance
enhancing, environmentally friendly and potentially
cost effective.
A hybrid power system essentially consists of two
main components. These are the power production
unit(s) or prime movers and the energy storage
unit(s). The basic philosophy of the hybrid system
is that the power produced can either be used to
satisfy the power demand of the consumers or
intermittently stored in the energy storage unit and
vice versa. In the automotive industry, hybrid has
been used as a term when the power can come from
either a combustion engine, or an electrical motor,
or from both. Such systems have been in used in e.g.
offshore vessels for several years, often referred to as
hybrid systems, while the energy storage capacity has
been missing.
The efciency of the hybrid system will depend on
the type of prime movers chosen as well as the
efciency losses of the system associated with the
number of converters required to convert the energy
from one form to another, and losses associated with
the energy storage and transmission. The control
strategy chosen for the hybrid system is also of
primary importance in order to optimize the system
efciency.
There may be different motivations for employing a
hybrid energy system for a ship. These are primarily
associated with improvements in performance for
operations, gains in energy efciency and related
savings in fuel costs and reduction of emissions.
A number of studies have been carried out to
investigate the potential benets of hybrid energy
systems for ships such as (1) (2) (3).
The benets of the hybrid systems are closely linked
to the operational prole of the ship. When choosing
whether to employ a hybrid power system, these
benets must be weighed against issues such as
safety, reliability, cost, weight and space. This paper
gives an insight into the possibilities and challenges
associated with hybrid systems for ships. The DNV
effort to assist the industry in the introduction
of this technology by exploring the potential for
optimization of energy production and emission
reductions through the FellowSHIP (4) project whilst
ensuring the safety and efciency of the new systems
through development of new rules and tools will also
be described.
Figure 2 Simple schematic of hybrid power system
introduction
Power Consumer
Energy Storage
Power Production
5
A hybrid power system can offer improved
performance and reliability for a ship as compared to
a ship with a traditional power system. The potential
benet will depend to a large extent on the energy
and/or power available in the storage unit. This is
dependent on the technology and the size used for
the storage unit. The maximum amount of both
power and energy is usually desired, but this is
normally a trade off as storage units with high power
density normally have restrictions on energy density
and vice versa. A Ragone diagram showing typical
combinations of power and energy density for a
number of energy storage technologies are shown in
Figure 3.

Figure 3 Ragone diagram for typical energy storage units
As the technology for the storage units improves and
develops, the potential benets on performance of
ship operations for hybrid ships will follow.
LOAD RESPONSE
Some ship types have signicant demands on load
exibility due to the nature of the ship operations.
The load response of the ship can be restricted
by the load response of the prime mover(s) or the
consumers. By combining a prime mover and an
energy storage unit in a hybrid system, limitations
in the load response of the prime mover can be
compensated for by the load characteristics of the
energy storage unit and vice versa.
Most common prime movers used for ships today
are limited in their load response. For reciprocating
combustion engines the load response depends
on parameters such as the fuel, combustion cycle,
engine geometry and turbocharger size. The
response time is normally associated with the initial
condition where the load change is initiated, the
load acceptance of the engine, the recovery time
required for the turbocharger to respond to the load
change and reach a stable operation point and the
nal load required. From a cold start, it can take
several minutes to achieve full engine load, and
even load variations for a running engine can take
signicant time. For other prime movers such as gas
turbines and fuel cells the load variations can take
even longer. As opposed to this characteristic, the
load response of storage units like batteries and
supercapacitors are virtually immediate. By utilizing
these for absorbing load changes, the ships load
response will be limited by the consumers rather
than by the power system. This will enable a ship
to quickly respond to variations in load demand,
whilst allowing the prime movers to work within
their operating limits, ensuring optimal ship
performance and safety. Combing technologies
with different characteristics can also enable the
use of technologies which would otherwise not be
applicable due to limited load response or other
limitations. It also allows the prime mover to be
optimized for efciency rather than compromising
on efciency to achieve the required load response.
The challenge introduced by this immediate load
response is to ensure that limitations of other
equipment and ship operations are upheld.
performance of ship operations
6
POWER AVAILABILITY
The power availability for a ship depends on the type
and size of prime movers installed and the availability
of this power. For a ship with several prime movers
installed in a power plant conguration, the
immediate power availability will be restricted by the
power availability in the number of prime movers
in operation due to the limited load response of
these whereas the total power availability is limited
by the total installed power. For a hybrid power
system the power availability will be determined by
the power available in the operating prime movers
and the energy storage units. The power available
from the energy storage units will be restricted in
time as the energy content in the storage units
is limited when compared to energy in the prime
movers which is determined by the amount of fuel
available. The period of availability of this power is
dependent on the power supplied by the storage
unit. As an example, a 1MWh lithium-ion battery can
by denition provide 1 MW of energy for 1 hour at a
discharge rate (C rate) of 1. However, some lithium-
ion battery chemistries may also in principle provide
10 MW of energy for a short period of time at a high
C rate. At such a high C rate the specic power of the
battery will be very high when compared to a typical
prime mover. The power from the storage units will
in most cases be immediately available as discussed
above.
A hybrid power system can therefore provide very
high power for a short period of time in potentially
critical operations and situations. This power
availability may therefore be detrimental for the
quality of the ship performance as well as for safety
in critical ship operations. Hybrid power systems
may in such a case give a distinct benet for ship
types where this is considered critical. However, it
is necessary that power is available in the storage
unit when required such that the captain does not
rely on a power availability which is not there. This
requires the introduction of a sophisticated energy
management system in addition to the conventional
power management system. The energy manage-
ment system should optimize the performance and
efciency of the power production whilst ensuring
that all safety requirements are satised.
REDUNDANCY
Several ship types have requirements to power
redundancy for certain types of operations.
This is particularly relevant for ships with dynamic
positioning (DP) systems installed. The requirements
to DP may not allow for start-up of prime movers
and in this case the redundancy requirements must
be ensured by the prime movers in operation at any
time. This will most likely require that more prime
movers are operated than needed to satisfy the
power requirements of the operation, leading to
prime movers operating at low loads where they are
inefcient and cause high emissions. The motivation
for the requirements to power redundancy is that
sufcient power should always be available to
complete the operation safely even if some power is
lost in case of failure, without the need for starting
a prime mover in case this should fail. If the energy
storage unit in a hybrid system can provide sufcient
power to the ship for the required period of time
to safely complete the operation, it could feasibly
give sufcient redundancy. This could then eliminate
the need for running prime movers at sub-optimal
loads, enabling optimization of the operating point
for the units in operation leading to reduced fuel
consumption, emissions and maintenance due to
reduced total running hours of the prime movers.
The availability of redundant power in the energy
storage unit must be ensured through the energy
management system.
7
EMERGENCY POWER
All ships have requirements for emergency power
and temporary emergency power according to
SOLAS. The temporary emergency power is to
be provided by energy storage units whereas the
emergency power is to be provided by emergency
generators or energy storage units. Today, ships
must be equipped with dedicated emergency
generators and storage units for this purpose. If the
energy storage unit which is part of a hybrid power
system has sufcient power and energy to cover
these requirements it can eliminate the need for
dedicated equipment. Such emergency power must
be available at all times, and the energy available in
the storage unit must therefore be governed by the
energy management system if the energy storage
unit is to be accepted for this purpose.
MAINTENANCE
Adoption of a hybrid philosophy can also affect the
requirements to maintenance for prime movers. As
mentioned above, the energy storage unit may act as
redundant power for some ship types. In these cases
the total engine running hours can be signicantly
reduced, and consequently also the required
maintenance. The hybrid philosophy will also affect
operating prole of the prime mover. For internal
combustion engine it is desirable to operate at high
and stable loads since the efciencies are higher. For
some fuel types this can be benecial with respect
to maintenance since operation at low and variable
loads can lead to the formation of soot which can
adversely affect the operation of the engine by
affecting lubrication, lters and oil ow, leading to
accelerated wear and potential break down of the
engine.
8
If the power produced on a ship was generated
at optimal efciency for all operating conditions
there would be no efciency benet of introducing
facilities for energy storage to optimize the system
efciency of the power production. However, the
efciency of a ships power system will not be
optimal at all operating conditions since components
such as prime movers and energy converters can
have efciencies which are strongly dependent on
load, and the load demand may vary signicantly
within the operating prole of the ship. The
implementation of a hybrid system can ensure
optimization of efciency by allowing power to be
produced at or close to the maximum efciency.
However, the hybrid system will also require
additional components such as energy converters
and energy storage devices which will adversely
affect the overall efciency of the energy system.
In this section, currently available options for prime
movers, energy storage, energy conversion and
power transmission are discussed based on their
impact on efciency.
PRIME MOVERS
Optimizing Load
Prime movers are in-fact energy converters in
that they convert the chemical energy in the
fuel to another form of energy. The efciency of
prime movers used for ships vary with load. Load
dependent efciencies for a number of typical prime
movers used for ships are given in Figure 4.
Efciency curves will vary signicantly depending
on the fuel, type and model of the prime mover.
The curves given in Figure 4 are for state of the
art prime movers with high end efciencies. The
efciency curves show that, apart from the molten
carbonate fuel cell, the efciency tends to decrease
with decreasing load. This is particularly evident for
the gas turbine and the four stroke engine. The two
stroke engine also operates at reduced efciency at
low loads, but the reduction is less. The four stroke
engine is a constant speed engine. A variable speed
four stroke engine would show similar characteristics
efciency
Figure 4 Load dependent efciency curves for various types of prime movers
9
to that of the two stroke engine, but with a similar
maximum efciency to that of the constant speed
four stroke engine. The fuel cell actually gives
increased efciency at part loads.
The maximum benet of a hybrid system is gained
by combining a prime mover with signicant load
dependent efciency variations with an energy
storage device, allowing the prime mover to operate
at optimal efciencies at all times while storing or
using energy from the energy storage device when
the power production is sub-optimal.
The control system will be essential in the
optimization of the hybrid system. The control
system can be congured to allow the prime mover
to operate close to its optimal point at all times or
at the optimal point by stopping the prime mover
when the energy storage unit is full in order to avoid
operation at part loads. This will pose a challenge
for prime movers such as gas and particularly steam
turbines as the time required to start and stop these
can be signicant. The potential for improving energy
efciency through a hybrid system is therefore
highest and most practical for constant speed
four stroke engines. In shipping, these engines are
primarily used for diesel electric propulsion, constant
speed controllable pitch propulsion and for auxiliary
power generation.
The benet of introducing a hybrid system in a ship
is also strongly dependent on the operating prole of
the ship. If the engines are operating at optimal loads
for most of their operations there is not much to gain
in terms of fuel efciency by optimizing the load.
However, for ships with a high variation in power
demand operating at low loads for large periods of
time, the fuel savings from optimizing the efciency
of the power production can be signicant. The
operating prole for the engines in a typical offshore
supply vessel is seen in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Operating prole for engines in a typical offshore supply
vessel
It is seen that the engines operate at below 50%
load for almost 75% of the time, making this type
of ship an ideal candidate for hybridization. Other
types of ships exhibiting this type of operating prole
with regards to requirements for propulsion power
are other types of offshore work vessels, tugs, ferries,
shuttle tankers, FPSOs and various ship types in
short sea operations. For ships with separate auxiliary
power production, such engine operating proles
can also exist for the auxiliary engines where auxiliary
power requirements are high only for shorts periods
of time during operation. Examples of this are deep
sea ships with high auxiliary power demands during
manoeuvring and low power demands during transit.
Reducing transient operations
An additional gain in efciency can be achieved by
avoiding frequent load variations or transients in the
prime mover. Such load variations have been found
to affect the efciency of the prime mover. The
effects of load variations on a four stroke constant
speed engine are shown in Figure 6.
10
Figure 6 Effect of load variations on engine efciency
The continuous blue line shows the load dependent
efciency at steady loads whereas the red dots show
efciencies for various load variations. Each red dot
represents a permutation of average load, amplitude
and period. For the engine tested, an efciency
decrease of up to 10% is observed.
A typical ship operation mode giving rise to frequent
engine transient loads is Dynamic Positioning (DP) of
ships. An example of the load prole of two engines
for a ship in dynamic positioning mode is illustrated
in Figure 7.
Introducing an energy storage device may eliminate
the engine load transients by accounting for a base
load through the engines and the transient additional
loads through the energy storage device.
ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES
There are a number of different energy storage
devices available today and signicant research is on-
going to improve the characteristics of these. Some
of these energy storage devices, such as batteries,
are in fact energy converters, but in the context
of this paper they have been classied as energy
storage devices. The selection of the energy storage
device for a ship will depend on parameters such
as efciency, safety, lifetime, reliability, cost, weight
and space. Some upper value efciency and specic
energy values for a number of storage devices
relevant for ships are given in Table 1. For batteries
the efciencies are given at cell level. The efciency
of large battery packs comprised of several cells will
be reduced and the reduction will be dependent on
design.
11
For a ship hybrid system to be benecial in terms
of increasing the overall energy efciency of the
ship, the charge efciency of the storage device
must be high while satisfying operational and
safety requirements as well as being cost effective
and practical. The technology currently dominating
the emerging market on energy storage for ships
is lithium-ion batteries due to their properties
satisfying all the criteria for practical application while
offering high efciencies and performance at a cost
which can offer an acceptable time for return on
investment within the lifetime of the battery. There
are several types of lithium-ion batteries with varying
properties depending on the battery chemistry. The
chemistries that can offer a safe and cost effective
alternative while maintaining high charge efciency
and performance are expected to dominate the
market in the years to come. Although lithium-
ion batteries currently appear to be the preferred
option for energy storage for ships, signicant
developments in any of the other storage alternatives
or alternative ways of conguring the hybrid systems
may change this.
Figure 7 Engine load variations in dynamic positioning mode over 8 minutes
Table 1 Charge efciency of various energy storage technologies
Storage type Compressed
air energy
storage
Flywheels Superconducting
magnetic energy
storage
Super-
capacitors
Lead-Acid
batteries
Nickel based
batteries
Lithium ion
batteries
Charge Efciency (%) 70 90 99 99 90 90 99
Specic Energy (Wh/kg) 30 130 50 30 40 120 200
12
ENERGY CONVERTERS
The energy converters required in a hybrid energy
system other than those associated with prime
movers and energy storage will depend on the type
of energy involved in energy production, energy
storage and energy consumption. Figure 8 shows
an energy ow diagram for a typical diesel electric
hybrid system with different energy forms denoted
by different colours. A component denoted by two
colours convert energy from one form to another. As
mentioned, diesel engines and batteries are energy
converters, but other energy converters such as the
generator and the electric motors are also parts of
the hybrid system.
Any conversion of energy from one form to another
will be associated with efciency losses, and the
power system should therefore be designed so as
to minimize these efciency losses. The type of
converters required depends on the design of the
hybrid system. The efciency of these converters
must be accounted for when assessing the
performance of the hybrid system. The efciency of
the converters will depend on the type of converters,
but also on the technology utilized and the make
of the converter. Some converters also have load
or power dependent efciencies. Figure 9 shows
an example of the load dependent efciency of a
generator.
Figure 8 Generic diesel electric hybrid system with energy ow and conversion
TANK
Chemical Energy
Chemical Energy
Diesel Engine
Mechanical Energy
Mechanical Energy
Generator
Electric Motor
Batteries
Electrical Energy
Electrical Energy
Propellers
Electrical Consumers
13
ENERGY TRANSMISSION
Power systems also require transmission. The
transmission depends on the energy form. The
arrows in Figure 8 denote transmission of energy and
the colour of the arrows denotes the type of energy
being transmitted. Similar to energy conversion,
transmission is also associated with efciency losses
which must be accounted for when evaluating the
total efciency of a power system.
The chemical energy in fuels is normally transferred
by pumping the fuel through pipes. The transmission
of the fuel generally accounts for only small
efciency losses, but in some cases like two stroke
gas engines efciency losses can be more signicant
as the gas needs to be injected into the combustion
chamber at high pressures.
Mechanical energy is normally transmitted by means
of a shaft and transmission losses are primarily
observed for components such as reduction gears,
couplings and bearings. The mechanical losses are
therefore minimized by employing few and low loss
mechanical transmission components.
Electrical energy is normally transmitted through
cables and efciency losses are due to components
like transformers, inverters and rectiers. Some of
the electrical transmission components mentioned
here are commonly referred to as converters due
to the fact that they convert electrical energy from
one electrical form to another, but in the context
of this paper converters only refer to components
converting energy from one energy form to another.
A notable form of electrical transmission is the
DC grid which is a reinvented philosophy applied
for ships (5). The benet of the DC grid is that it
minimizes the losses for conversion between AC and
DC in the ship grid whilst allowing for variable speed
engines in the generation of DC current.
Figure 9 Load dependent efciency curve for a typical synchronous generator
14
Other forms of transmission, such as hydraulic and
hydrodynamic transmission exist, but these are not
widely used in ship energy systems and are therefore
not discussed in detail here.
HYBRID PHILOSOPHY
The total energy efciency of a power system will
depend on its design and operation. There are
several philosophies as to the design of a hybrid
system. For hybrid cars; parallel, series and power
split hybrids represent different hybrid philosophies
(6). As for cars, the most energy efcient design will
depend on the operational prole of the ship and
the efciency of the power system in the different
modes of operation. In terms of efciency, a hybrid
system will always be most benecial where power
demands vary and energy cannot be produced
efciently. However, the merits of a hybrid system
must be evaluated based on the performance over
the complete mission prole of the ship.
Dependent on the operational prole, the hybrid
philosophy may be adopted for all the power
production on the ship in a hybrid power plant lay-
out or adopted only for the propulsion or auxiliary
power in a decoupled power production. The
design of the hybrid system is essential in order to
optimize the efciency of the power production
whilst minimizing the losses associated with energy
storage, conversion and transmission. This can also
be ensured by applying a system which runs in
conventional or hybrid mode depending on which
is most energy efcient. An offshore supply vessel
would for example operate most efciently with a
hybrid system in DP mode, whereas it would operate
most efciently with a direct mechanical drive in
transit mode due to fewer losses in the system.
A power system which is able to switch between the
two would therefore provide the optimal solution in
terms of energy efciency.
Optimal design is also strongly dependent on cost
and space. A hybrid system will incur additional
costs due to the capital cost of the energy storage
and associated components required for integration.
However, the capital cost may be reduced by
installing less power in prime movers as additional
power and redundancy can be supplied by the
energy storage units. For retrot solutions it may
also be possible to sell engines on the second hand
market to offset some of the capital cost. The
battery itself may also have a second hand value as
it will need to be replaced before it is completely
exhausted. With respect to space requirements,
the hybrid system will require more space than a
conventional system due to the addition of the
storage unit, but this may be accommodated as
a result of possible exibility with respect to the
location of the storage unit, provided it is put in a
safe space. Space may also be freed if it is possible to
replace prime movers by batteries.
ENERGY HARVESTING AND RECOVERY
In order to facilitate the harvesting of energy from
alternative sources on board a ship it is necessary
to provide facilities for energy storage. There are
potentially several sources of energy on a ship which
can be converted to propulsion or auxiliary power.
Some examples of energy sources that can be
utilized to generate energy on a ship are solar, wind
and wave energy, see Figure 10. Utilizing energy
from on-board equipment such as cranes through
regenerative braking is also feasible. Without an
energy storage unit on board, such energy would
have to be used directly, limiting the applicability of
these devices.
15
Moreover, energy recovery systems can be used to
retrieve energy from the prime movers such as waste
heat recovery (WHR). The recovery of waste heat
from prime movers can be limited by the load in
that waste heat recovery is often not feasible at low
loads. In a hybrid philosophy, the machinery should
mostly operate at high loads, and the potential
gains from waste heat recovery would therefore be
maximized. An advantage of storing energy gained
from waste heat recovery is that this energy may
not be usable immediately, and by having a facility
for storing energy, the energy recovered from WHR
will not be lost. If the hybrid ship has facilities for
cold ironing it can also harvest energy from shore
generated power. A hybrid system with such facilities
are illustrated in Figure 11. Figure 10 Car carrier with array of solar panels on the deck
Figure 11 Hybrid power system with energy recovery and harvesting
16
In a similar fashion to the optimization of energy
efciency, the hybridization of the vessel can lead to
reductions of emissions. The potential for emission
reductions depends on the emission characteristics
of the prime mover which is dependent on the
type and fuel used. Depending on the size of the
energy storage unit installed, it may also be possible
to eliminate emissions in environmentally sensitive
areas. Reduction in emissions in the form of noise
and vibrations may also be achieved by using a
hybrid power system.
EMISSION REDUCTION
The effect of a hybrid power system on the gaseous
emissions from a ship will depend on the fuel
and the prime mover used. The potential benet
of introducing a hybrid power system can be
illustrated by plotting load dependent emission
products normalized by the emissions per unit of
fuel consumed for optimal load at which the energy
producer should operate in a hybrid energy system.
Such a plot is shown for a constant speed four stroke
gas engine in Figure 12, where the optimal operating
point of the engine in terms of efciency occurs at
maximum load.
It is seen that carbon dioxide (CO
2
) emissions per unit
fuel is virtually independent of load and therefore
directly related to the fuel consumed and the carbon
content of the fuel. The same is true for Sulphur
oxides (SO
x
) emissions for energy producers utilizing
fuels with sulphur content. The proportional relation
of CO
2
and SO
x
emissions to fuel consumed is valid
for all fuel and engine types.
The other emission products shown are seen not
to be directly related to the fuel consumed. Nitric
Oxides (NO
x
) emissions will typically depend on the
pressure and temperature characteristics associated
with the method of energy production. For the
engine shown, the production of NO
x
per unit of
fuel burned is seen to increase with decreasing load.
This characteristic will vary depending on fuel and
type of prime mover. The carbon monoxide (CO)
and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions per unit of fuel
consumed are also seen to increase with decreasing
emissions
Figure 12 Emission products from a gas engine normalized by emission per unit of fuel consumed
17
loads and are also observed to have a very similar
characteristic. This trend is general as these emission
products are strongly related to the amount of
unburned hydrocarbons in the energy production.
However, the shape of the curves will be dependent
on the fuel and energy production unit. Some fuels
will generate virtually no HC emissions. HC emissions
are particularly evident for gas fuel due to the nature
of the fuel and very relevant as these emissions can
account for signicant parts of greenhouse gas
emissions from gas fuelled prime movers. Particulate
matter emissions (PM) primarily depend on the fuel,
temperature and air to fuel ratio in the prime mover.
With respect to reduction of particulate matter
emissions, this is a complex issue since it is not
only the mass, but also size and shape of individual
particles which inuence the effect of the emissions
on climate and human health (7).
In order to visualize the true potential for reducing
emissions by introducing a hybrid philosophy, the
load dependent efciency should also be accounted
for. Figure 13 shows the emission products of the
same gas engine normalized by emissions per energy
unit produced. The engine efciency is therefore also
accounted for. The CO
2
reduction potential is directly
proportional to the potential for the reduction
in fuel consumption whereas the other emission
products are related to both efciency and other
characteristics as described above. It is evident that
for a ship with these engines, operating the engines
at low loads for signicant periods, the reduction
potential for these emission products is signicant
through the introduction of a hybrid power system.
The effect of the fuel is visualized in Figure 14
showing the same plot as in Figure 13 for a similar
engine running on diesel rather than gas. Again,
the CO
2
is emissions are seen to be directly related
to fuel consumption whereas the other emission
products are observed to have different load
dependent characteristics as a result of the fuel
used in the combustion process. HC emissions have
been replaced by PM emissions as HC emissions are
Figure 13 Emission products from a gas engine normalized by emission per energy unit produced
18
marginal for diesel engines whereas PM emissions
can be signicant.
REDUCTION OF LOCAL EMISSIONS
The impact of emissions depends on the emission
product. The consequences of CO
2
and HC
emissions from the combustion process are primarily
global in that they contribute to heating of the
atmosphere due to increased concentrations. In this
context the exact location at which the emissions
occur is not necessarily important. Other emission
products such as NO
x
, SO
x
, CO and PM may have a
signicant adverse impact locally. These products of
the combustion process have an effect on human
health and the environment in the vicinity of the
location of where they are emitted. In addition,
shipping emissions of NOx and SOx and PM can
have a signicant impact on global climate, through
a number of complex chemical and physical
mechanisms (8).
If signicant energy storage capacity is available by
means of an energy storage device on-board the
ship, it may be possible to control the location at
which exhaust gases are emitted, by using energy
from the energy storage device when it is desired
to eliminate emissions, and then to produce power
and charge the energy storage unit when emissions
are considered less harmful. Typically, one would
seek to eliminate or reduce emissions for operations
in densely populated areas, like harbours and near
shores, while allowing emissions when operating
in the open sea. If harbours have cold ironing
infrastructure, this can also be used to account for
the energy needs and charge the energy storage
device while in harbour. This philosophy would
typically require a storage unit with relatively large
capacity.
Implementing a local emission management scheme
may also give a nancial benet if this is managed
within certain areas where local regulatory bodies
give reduced tax incentives for the reduction of
pollution. The Norwegian NOx tax and associated
fund is an example of this (9). It may also give a ticket
to trade within dened Emission Control Areas (ECA)
Figure 14 Emission products from a diesel engine normalized by emissions per energy unit produced
19
by fullling the emission regulations within the ECA.
Existing and possible future ECAs are shown in
Figure 15.
REDUCTION OF NOISE AND VIBRATIONS
Noise and vibrations are other forms of pollution
which may be reduced by the introduction of an
on-board energy storage unit, assuming this device
does not generate substantial noise or vibrations.
Noise and vibration reductions can be desired to
give improved comfort or working environment
on-board the ship in certain conditions and also for
improving the environment in a port. Vibrations can
also be avoided by ensuring the machinery does not
operate at a frequency which gives rise to unwanted
vibrations.
Alternatively, reduction of underwater noise may
be desired in certain operating conditions for
ships such as research and naval vessels. There are
several sources for underwater noise, one of the
principal ones being the engine. By introducing an
accumulator it should be possible to eliminate the
noise and vibrations emanating from the engine
intermittently.
Figure 15 Existing and possible future ECAs
20
Based on the potential benets of adopting a
hybrid power system for ships, DNV believes that
this philosophy has a future in shipping. The rst
hybrid ship concepts have in fact been realized, such
as the Foss hybrid tugs (10), and more projects are
emerging. In order to assist the maritime industry
in implementing and optimizing hybrid energy
systems for ships, DNV have instigated several
initiatives. These are a demonstration project called
FellowSHIP where a hybrid system is being designed,
commissioned, tested and evaluated, development
of DNV rules for on-board battery packs and
development of a process modelling tool aimed at
optimizing the design and operation of a hybrid
power system.
FELLOWSHIP III
FellowSHIP III is the third phase of a joint industry
project between DNV, energy systems maker Wrtsil
and the ship owner Eidesvik. The project has been
running since 2003 and is supported by the Norwegian
Research Council. The rst two phases of the project
were focusing on fuel cells for ships (11), where a
330 kW molten carbonate fuel cell was installed on
board the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady.
The third phase of the project focuses on the
introduction of a 500 kWh lithium-ion battery pack,
in the Viking Lady, to convert the existing power
system to a hybrid power system. The existing power
system consists of a dual fuel electric system where
the electric system has an AC bus for operation of
the propulsion motors and the auxiliary systems
and a DC bus for integrating the fuel cell in the
power system. The battery can therefore be easily
accommodated by connecting this to the DC bus.
Installation, testing and demonstration of the hybrid
power system are scheduled in 2013. The potential
benets of the system will be tested in all operational
modes, but the main focus will be on dynamic
positioning and harbour operation. DP mode will be
studied in particular as this is the operational mode
with the highest potential for fuel savings, whereas
harbour mode will be studied in detail as a silent
running, low emission concept from operation on
fuel cell and battery alone is desired when the ship is
in environmentally sensitive areas.
A comprehensive measurement programme is also
carried out in order to quantify the effect of the
hybrid system on fuel consumption and emissions.
As the Viking Lady is equipped with duel fuel
engines, able to operate on gas or diesel, the
measurements give insight into the potential benets
of hybridization of both gas electric and diesel
electric power systems. Preliminary measurements
show that the introduction of the hybrid system for
Viking Lady gives a potential 20% reduction in fuel
consumption and this can give a payback time for
the hybrid system of less than two years depending
on fuel and battery prices.
The measurements also show that the potential in
the reduction of greenhouse gases depends on the
fuel used, but that this is in the range of 20-50%
for the operating prole of the ship. The possible
reductions are particularly evident when the engine
is running on LNG as problems related to emissions
of unburned methane at low engine loads will be
eliminated by running the engines in the upper load
range. The reduction potential for emission products
like NO
x
and CO are also seen to be up to 50% over
the mission prole of the ship. This is very signicant
as ships are large emitters of NO
x
and a typical
offshore supply ship can annually emit as much NO
x

as 70,000 cars.
DNV participate in the FellowSHIP project to gain
rst-hand knowledge on hybrid systems for ships
and to use this knowledge in rule and simulation tool
development relevant for hybrid power systems.
DNV and hybrid ships
21
BATTERY RULES
To accommodate hybrid power systems with storage
for ships, DNV have been the rst classication
society to develop rules for battery power for
essential ship operations (12). The rules focus on
batteries in general and lithium-ion batteries in
specic as this is the battery chemistry which is
currently adapted for most ship-board battery
packs. Should this change in the future with
regard to battery chemistry or other storage
technologies, the rules will be amended accordingly
to accommodate these developments. The
current rules put requirements on arrangement
and system design, battery cell safety, associated
electrical, control and monitoring systems as well
as installation of the battery. Work has also been
carried out to accommodate hybrid power systems
and the integration of batteries in these systems
in the DNV rules. The rules have been developed
and revised in close collaboration with makers
of battery packs and based on results as well as
experiences gained by the FellowSHIP project and
other projects. Implementation of these rules has
made DNV ideally positioned to classify ships with
hybrid power systems. The safety aspects of battery
packs must be properly handled as such a battery
Figure 16 The Viking Lady
22
pack can represent a hazardous component. This
has been observed in other industries. Introducing
this technology in a new environment with new
requirements for loads may lead to additional
challenges in terms of reliability and durability. In
parallel with the development of the DNV rules a
project on the qualication of battery systems for
ships is on-going to address these issues and support
the development of the rules.
PROCESS MODELLING
The hybrid power system installed in connection with
the FellowSHIP project is a retrot solution which
is not optimized with respect to cost, efciency,
reliability, space or weight requirements. In order
to be able to further explore the capabilities and
properties of a hybrid system, a generic dynamic
process modelling framework called COSSMOS
has been developed (13). The methodology is
based on mathematical modelling of the dynamic
thermo-uid, mechanical and electrical behaviour
of components including energy conversion and
transmission. This modelling framework is used to
simulate the hybrid system of Viking Lady, and the
model is calibrated and veried by the measurements
carried out in the FellowSHIP project. Furthermore,
due to the generic nature of the model it is also
possible to simulate other possible congurations of
the hybrid system in order to investigate how such
a system can be optimized in terms of design and
power management over the mission prole of the
ship. The optimization criteria used are performance,
reliability, safety, cost space and weight. The
development and validation of this tool will allow
DNV to assist its clients in assessing and optimizing
hybrid energy systems and tailor these to the
operational prole of the ship in question.
23
In order to operate a ship as efciently as possible
it is necessary to make an attempt at optimizing the
efciency of the energy production for all operating
conditions. One way of doing this is by employing
a hybrid philosophy. A hybrid philosophy essentially
combines power production and energy storage
in some form. The benet of introducing energy
storage is that energy can be produced efciently
even when the power demand is at a sub optimal
efciency point of the prime mover by storing and
using energy when required to optimize the energy
efciency at that point. The hybrid philosophy comes
at a cost in that additional losses will be introduced
in conversion and transmission of energy. In order
to gain benet from a hybrid system the efciency
gains must therefore outweigh the losses. Hybrid
power systems will therefore primarily be employed
for ship power systems that operate at sub optimal
efciencies for large periods of time. They can
also be employed intermittently for certain ship
operations only. The hybrid systems can also offer
signicant advantages due to reduced emissions and
improved performance.
Deployment of hybrid power systems will be
dependent on the benets as opposed to the cost
whilst ensuring a safe and practical system. The
immediate application areas are seen to be for ship
types such as tugs, offshore work vessels and for
auxiliary systems for several ship types.
In theory, several different energy production
and storage units can be used in a hybrid system,
but currently the likely system will be based on a
combination of internal combustion engines and
batteries facilitated by an electrical system. DC
based electrical systems are likely to be applied for
new-buildings due to the possibility for minimizing
transmission losses as well as maximizing the
efciency of the energy production. Retrotting
energy storage units to existing ships are also viable
for some power systems if the potential for fuel
savings or benets on performance are substantial.
When employing hybrid systems with energy
storage it is imperative that all the safety issues are
handled in a responsible manner. The changes in
power availability and response as well as the novel
components such as large scale battery packs must
be integrated in the power system and handled
in such a way that the overall safety of the ship is
increased rather than compromised. This is ensured
by DNV through the knowledge and requirements
set for hybrid power systems.
conclusions
24
1. Potential Benets of Hybrid Powertrain Systems for
Various Ship Types. Bjrn Johan Vartdal, Christos
Chryssakis. Paris : IFPEN, 2011. Inte. Science Conf. on
hybrid and electric viechles.
2. Evaluating emissions Benets of a Hybrid tug Boat.
Jayaram, V., Khan, M.Y., Miller, J.W., Welch,
W.A., Johnson, K and Cocker, D.R. s.l. : University of
California, Riverside, 2010.
3. Energy Storage Analysis to Increase Large Ship Fuel
Efciency. Gully, B.H., Seepersad, C.C., Webber,
M.E., Thomson R.C. San Fransisco : ASME, 2009.
4. Viking Lady goes Hybrid. Vartdal, Bjrn Johan.
FellowSHIP. [Internett] 2012. www.vikinglady.no.
5. Onboard DC-Grid and Energy Management
ToolsIncreased operational performance of OSVs
by Onboard DC Grid. Hansen, J.F., Lindtjorn,
J.O., Odegaard U.U and Myklebust, T.A. s.l. :
4
th
International Conference on Technology and
Operation of Offshore Support Vessels, 2011.
6. Hybrids for Road Transport. Christidis, P., Hernandez,
H., Aliki, G., Stathis, D.P. s.l. : European Commission,
2005. EUR 21743 EN.
7. Health risks of particulate matter from long-
range transboundary air pollution. World Health
Organization. Copenhagen : WHO regional ofce for
Europe, 2006.
8. Reducing CO
2
from shipping - Do non CO
2
effects
matter? M.S. Eide et. al. : Atmospheric Chemistry and
Physics, Vol. 13.
9. The NO
x
fund. NHO. Hovedorganisasjon,
Naeringslivets. [Internett] 2013. http://www.nho.no/
nox/english.
10. Foss Hybrid Tug Development Project - Final Report.
Foss. [Internett] 2009. www.foss.com.
11. Fuel Cells for Ships. DNV. s.l. : DNV, 2012. Research
and Innovation, Position Paper 132012 .
12. Tentative rules for Battery Power. DNV Rules Pt.6
Ch.28. s.l. : DNV, 2013.
13. An integrated modelling framework for the design,
operation and control of marine energy systems.
Dimopolous, G.G. and Kakalis, N.M.P. Bergen :
CIMAC, 2010.
references
25
26
27
DET NORSKE VERITAS AS
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
NO-1322 Hvik, Norway I Tel: +47 67 57 99 00 I Fax: +47 67 57 99 11
www.dnv.com
THIS IS DNV
DNV is a global provider of services for managing risk. Established in 1864,
DNV is an independent foundation with the purpose of safeguarding life,
property and the environment. DNV comprises 300 ofces in 100 countries
with more than 8,000 employees.
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