Ship propulsion by renewable

energies available at sea:

Innovations for utilisation
of wind and waves

Dr. rer. nat. Jörg Sommer

Januar 2013
 Preliminary remark 1
The next-but-one generation of vehicles will be
driven by hydrogen

 The BMW path: Hydrogen driven combustion motors

 The Mercedes-Benz path: Hydrogen – fuel cell – electric motor
 Prototype for ferries of the future: Alsterwasser

Alsterwasser: Ferry for 100

passengers, Hamburg 2008,
driven solely by hydrogen.
 Preliminary remark 2
The hydrogen driven vehicles exist already – but
not the infrastructure:

We have to look for intermediate steps. One of

them could be to produce hydrogen
aboard. This is the initial point of my further
considerations.
 1. Sun alone isn‘t enough
Negative advertizing
Auriga Leader, Japan 2008,
A press release:
60,213 gross tons
“The huge freighter capable of
carrying 6,400 automobiles is
equipped with 328 solar panels at
a cost of 150 million yen (1.68
million dollars), the officials said.
The solar power system can generate
40 kilowatts, which would initially
cover only 0.2 percent of the
ship's energy consumption for
propulsion, but company officials
said they hoped to raise the ratio.”
 33 PS or 32 hp for a superyacht
(31 m = 102 ft)

• Even a special design

for maximal use of
sun power results in
disappointing
performance.
• Despite the fact, that
this is one of the most
The Tûranor Planet Solar (loa 31m)
beautiful solar ships was entirely new designed for
ever built. maximal use of sun power, with 537
square meter solar panels.
Nevertheless she has to manage with
only 24 kW (32 hp).
 2. Energy by sails isn‘t storable
A wind turbine can do both:
• but they are the most effective
wind propulsors, 1. Drive the boat or
• especially the newly developed 2. produce storable
wing sails. energy.
But for (1) you need a gear
and a screw, which
have friction- and
transmission losses,
and for (2) you need a
generator, a device to
store electrical energy,
and a motor to drive the
screw, also with
conversion losses.

BMW Oracle America's Cup boat Relevation II

 3. The developement of mobile
wave energy converters is
insufficient
• Fins: Not a good
Suntory
solution!
Mermaid 2
• Suntory mermaid II (Hiroshi
reaches only Terao)
pedestrian mean
speed
• Orcelle: performance
not known, but most
likely insufficient.
Orcelle
(Wallenius Wilhelmsen)
 Conclusion: All or none!
If you really want to promote the use of
renewable energies for ship propulsion,
you have to

• Use all sources available on sea,

• Make a new design,
• Take care of storing energy.
Primary energy and effective power
 facts & figures about sun-, wind-, and wave energy
 Example: Eco-Trimaran with realistic scenarios for method and location of
operation
 Eco-Trimaran
•The broad roof
The floates can move
is covered with
solar cells. about their horizontal
•Wind turbine cross axis (used for
of type „H- wave power
Rotor“. In a conversion)
newer version
the two rotors and about their
are side by vertical axis
side (necessary for
(interlocking) steering, avoiding of
and not torsional stress and
twisted. minimazation of drag)

Technical data: LOA = 24.6 m, displacement: 61 m3

 The movements of the floats in the waves (upper
animation) are at first converted into hydraulic pressure
(lower animation) and then into electric power (not shown)
– the same principle as at Pelamis.
 Pelamis is a stationary wave power
convertor. Several machines of this type
deliver electrical power since years.

The „Eco-Trimaran“ uses the same principle.

The only difference: His floats lie side by side and
not in a row.
The same principle of wave power
conversion may be realized by
other types of ships
Back to wind power:

How to combine the

benefits of a wind
turbine (energy
storage + ship
propulsion)
and wing sail (direct
propulsion without
storage- and
transformation
losses)?
 Using a wind turbine as sail
Requirements:
• H-rotor (vertical axis) with 2 vertical blades (not twisted).
• Bracket for wind turbine.
• Step motor, which may turn the rotor together with its
bracket in any position of a 360° circle.
• Every blade is pivotable about its own longitudinal axis
by a step motor.
• Process computer to steer the step motors and a special
software.
 Change of operation from wind turbine to
wingsail
1. Stop the wind turbine by its bracket
2. Turn the rotor together with its bracket in a position
which
a) is optimal for using the blades as sails and
b) minimizes shadowing of solar panels on the roof

3. Turn each blade in an optimal sailing position

4. Enlarge the area of the blades and give them a sail
profile.

How the latter is achieved is shown on the next frame:

From wing sail to blade and vice versa
hinge

State as wing sail State as blade in a H-

Rotor (wind turbine)
Topview
 Some further benefits of this
construction
As sail:
• Fully automatic sail trimm
• Minimization of shadowing the solar panels

As wind turbine:
• Gain in efficiency by adaption of the blade angle to wind
direction (traditional H-rotor has fixed blades)
 Sun: Global radiation and effective power
Primary energy Northern scenario (North Sea) Effective power

P3 = 2.26 kW =
E = 900 kWh P1 = 0.10 kW P2 = 10.27 kW
3.0 hp = 3.1 PS

Sum of radiation P1 = E / 8760 h P3 = P2 * 0.22

Mean radiation P2 = P1 * 100 m2
energy per year Mean radiation Power output of 100
and 1 m2 power per 1 m2 m2 solar cells. 0.22
(8760 is the number power arriving at
(horizontal plane) 100 m2 solar cells is their efficiency
of hours per year) coefficient
Primary energy Southern scenario (Mediterranean) Effective power

P3 = 4.52 kW =
E = 1800 kWh P1 = 0.20 kW P2 = 20.55 kW
6.1 hp = 6.2 PS
 Wind: Speed and effective power
Primary energy Northern scenario (North Sea) Effective power

P2 = 4.8 kW =
v1 = 8 m/sec. V2 = 6.2 m/sec. P1 = 148 W
6.4 hp = 6.5 PS

mean wind speed mean wind speed in hub Wind power wind power of a wind
in a defined height of 9.5 m per m2 converter with an effective
hight, e.g. 50 m v2 = v1*(9.5/50)0.12, where P1 = 0.61 * v23 area of 111m2 and degree of
(wind maps) 0.12 is a roughness
0.61 is half air efficiency of 0.29:
coefficient for open sea
density P2 = P1 * 111 * 0.29 /1000
Primary energy Southern scenario (Mediterranean) Effective power

P2 = 3.7 kW =
v1 = 7 m/sec V2 = 5.7 m/sec. P1 = 115 W
5.0 hp = 5.0 PS
 Waves
Primary energy Northern scenario (North Sea) Effective power

T = 5.5 s P2 = 106 kW =
P1 = 30 kW 143 hp = 147 PS
HS = 3.3 m

power output of a wave line converter

Significant wave hight with frontal width of 6.45 m, a degree
Hs and Period T (as Wave power per 1m of efficiency of 0.7 (wave to wire) and
registrated by wave crest a free course relative to wave fronts:
detection buoys for reduction factor 0.7854
defined sea areas) P1= 0.5 * T * Hs2 (kW)
P2 = P1 * 6.45 *0.7* 0.7854 (kW)

Primary energy Southern scenario (Mediterranean) Effective power

T = 3.0 s P2 = 18 kW =
P1 = 5 kW
Hs = 1.29 m 24 hp = 24 PS
Comparison: Waves are by fare the
best energy source!
Scenario

Source North South best unit

Sun 2,3 4,5 5,5 kW

Wind 4,8 3,7 6,7 kW

Waves 106,0 18,0 319,1 kW

113 26 331 kW
Sum
154 36 450 PS

But all things concidered: Is that enough for a super yacht (25 m = 81 ft)?
 Critical considerations
113 26 331 kW
Sum
154 36 450 PS

This figures are Means.

There are days with higher energy input, but also days with
less.
We must also take into account the power consumption
aboard.
a southern scenario like the mediterranian is a very favored
region for superyachts
not every owner likes strong winds and high waves.
Is there annother source of energy?
The forth source: Stored energy
• The mooring times may be used for energy
storing.
• Especially super yachts have long mooring
times – in many cases 90% of the year!
• Hydrogen is proposed as storing medium; so
we take future proceedings into account.
• We have a bridge Technology to the next-but-
one generation of eco vessels.