ABB announced that it has won an order from ship owner Myklebusthaug Management to supply what is described as the first ever dc power grid on board a ship. The equipment will allow a new offshore platform support vessel, under construction in Norway, to operate at the highest energy efficiency level to minimize emissions.
In traditional electrical propulsion vessels, multiple dc connections are made to thrusters and propulsion drives from an ac circuit, accounting for more than 80 percent of electrical power consumption. ABB’s Onboard DC Grid represents a step forward in optimized propulsion by distributing power through a single dc circuit providing significant power savings.