HH Ferries Group has chosen to ABB’s battery power and propulsion package, inclusive of an automated shore-side charging station, for two of its ferries.
The Tycho Brahe and Aurora ferries, which are set to become the largest electric ferries in the world, will operate fully on battery power between Helsingør, Denmark and Helsingborg, Sweden.
Using battery power on these two ferries will help lower total emissions across the fleet by more than 50 percent from the current diesel operated vessels, say ABB.
The ABB power and propulsion solution, which will comprise of batteries, an energy storage control system, and onboard DC grid technology, will provide a combined battery power of 8,320 kWh for the two ferries – the equivalent of 10,700 car batteries.
The Finnish power and automation giant will also supply the first automated shore-side charging stations using an ABB industrial robot to optimise connection and charging time. The automated shore-side charging system technology works by using 3D laser scanning and wireless communication between ship and shore. As the ferry approaches the shore in its last 400m, the robot will reach out and pull the shore cable from the ship. The cable reel releases the cable and the robot moves the connectors to the corresponding connectors below the robot. After the connection is made, the robot moves back to the home-position and the roll-up doors closes. The robot will reside inside its own building when not in use.
Scandanavia and the Nordic region have been hailed as leaders in progressive environmentally friendly solutions. This particular investment is co-financed by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), the EU’s executive agency for innovation and network.
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