MJR Power and Automation - Taking the Power Back
Posted on 01 November 2022
Paul Cairns, Managing Director at MJR Power and Automation outlines the company’s new technology set to revolutionise the future for electrification in the marine and offshore energy sector.
The UK’s offshore wind industry is in a unique position to act as a springboard for broader maritime decarbonisation, being both a potential producer and user of clean fuels.
Using clean energy is expected to make up a far greater part of the maritime fuel mix of the future, be that directly using the cleanly generated electricity or by converting this clean energy into combustible fuels such as green hydrogen.
MJR Power and Automation, an engineering powerhouse located in the North East of England - alongside a consortium of partners - is at the very forefront in driving the transition to utilise the energy generated by offshore wind farms to create fuels for the maritime industry.
The Challenge
Paul Cairns, Managing Director at MJR Power and Automation and a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science & Technology ( FIMarEST) - who possesses over 35 years’ experience delivering power and electrical marine engineering projects - explains, presently, most offshore wind turbines are maintained using marine gas oil (MGO) powered vessels, most notably Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs), which are calculated to contribute 10-20% of the lifecycle carbon emissions of an offshore wind project. Paul continues, “Converting or replacing MGO fueled CTVs with vessels powered by clean fuels is estimated to save between 1,278t and 2,500t, depending on vessel type, of CO2 emissions annually, per vessel replaced.”
With offshore windfarms typically chartering several CTVs each, and the number of CTVs required to service the industry set to grow rapidly over the next decade, Paul explains, the industry must act now – and it is paving the way in doing so - to significantly reduce its future increased emissions.
Addressing the Challenge
The industry as a whole is very much focused on accelerating the electrification of the marine and offshore sector, which has seen industry wide collaborations formed to achieve decarbonisation collectively, with widespread adoption of clean fuels on vessels, as well as big industry players setting clear commitments to reach net-zero by 2025 targets.
One accessible route to reducing the carbon footprint of offshore wind operations and maintenance activities is through the adoption of electric CTVs (eCTVs). However, this presents several restrictions as limited battery storage energy density severely reduces the operating capability and range of eCTVs, thus limiting their adoption and the decarbonisation of this area of the industry.
Paul said: “Having a method to charge batteries in the field – ideally during periods that vessels would otherwise be spent idle – will be a key enabler for the large-scale deployment of eCTVs and help achieve the carbon emission reduction targets of the industry.”
Taking the Power Back
As such, to meet the industry’s need to significantly reduce its emissions, MJR Power and Automation has successfully fast tracked the design and development of an electrical vessel charging system following the company being selected as winners of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, receiving funding from the Department for Transport with the scheme being delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
The company has led a consortium of partners - ORE Catapult; Xceco; Artemis Technologies and Tidal Transit - each with expertise in their given field to develop the first of its kind technology.
The charge points enable all electric crew transfer vessels and other offshore support vessels to connect in the field to a 100% green energy source generated directly by the offshore wind turbines for the efficient, safe and reliable transfer of power.
This new technology innovation - currently in final stages of testing for deployment offshore - will break down the existing range barriers and thus increase the uptake by vessel owners and operators with transition to fully electric and green propulsion systems, for retrofit and new build vessels. In combination with other field proven technologies, the charging system will be an important part for government and offshore wind owners and operators, to achieve their net zero maritime operations targets, and switch away from fossil fuels.
The ability to charge when in the field, will significantly accelerate adoption of current emission free propulsion systems which will be a major asset for the decarbonisation of the UK and global maritime sector.
System Overview
Paul explains, the technology accesses the infrastructure already in place including turbine platform and electrical power to provide renewable electricity to vessels. As an eCTV docks with the turbine a cable reel lowers down an electrical charge connection which plugs in to the vessel and charges a battery on-board.
Although some of the technology necessary for this is relatively mature, significant technology gaps remain to making offshore charging safe and practical. MJR Power and Automation has successfully developed the technology to fill these gaps and developed standards, working practices and procedures in order to safely carry this out at sea.
The overview of the charging system, shown in Figure 1, includes, but is not limited to:
- On turbine power converter – converts the windfarm medium voltage AC power into DC power that is compatible with the CTV propulsion & battery system (see item 1 in Figure 1 & Figure 2)
- On turbine mooring/charging cable & connector deployment system ‘Reeler’ (see item 2 in Figure 1 & Figure 3)
- Vessel connection & mooring system – item 3 in Figure 1 & Figure 4)
- Control & safety system item 4 in Figure 1 & Figure 5).
Real Time Control and Safety System
The technology is linked to a real time control system to enable safe control and the charging from both the vessel and windfarm control room operating locations and is designed to embed safety throughout the charging process.
The control and safety system has been developed according to marine classification society rules and standards, coupled with MJR Power and Automation’s 25 years of experience of designing and delivering safety and mission critical systems to the offshore energy industry.
A real time deterministic marine grade operating platform is joined with the added functionality of a web portal system used for the booking and monitoring of the wind turbine charging system from the vessel, the windfarm control room and also via desktop access.
The control software has been developed for full operational control of the charging system, reeler system and vessel connection system. The high-level functions of the control modes are:
- Manual Control
- Follow Mode
- Mooring Mode.
Throughout the process of charging the vessel battery system, the vessel personnel have full visibility of the status of both the charging and deployment system with the operator control station that would be situated on the bridge of the vessel.
Accelerating Electrification
Through the adoption of such technology, it is estimated that a single vessel switching from diesel to battery electric propulsion will save 1,278 tonnes of CO2e emissions/year. As such, Paul said: “This technology has huge potential to enable the UK’s marine and offshore wind industry to seamlessly convert to electric operation of its CTV fleet.
“And if 50% of the UK’s CTV fleet converted to electric operation, this would eliminate approximately 131,100 tonnes of CO2 each year. These figures are staggering and highlight that such technology and adoption of it, will be absolutely pivotal in reducing emissions in the field and helping the UK to achieve net zero targets.”
The offshore charging solution will enable the immediate conversion to electric vessels and the removal of over 300 diesel-powered CTVs from UK coastal waters. And with the ever-growing number of wind farms both in UK waters and across the world, this will play an integral part for owners and operators to meet their emission targets.
Industry Recognition
As part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Final Showcase hosted by Department for Transport (DfT), Innovate UK and Innovate UK KTN, MJR Power and Automation showcased its offshore charging system earlier this year amongst 54 other projects from across the UK that also received funding at Portsmouth International Port.
At this year’s Seawork event – Europe’s largest commercial marine exhibition – the company secured a highly acclaimed award and was announced as winners of the Innovations Showcase Category for renewable energy in recognition of its offshore charging system.
The business was also shortlisted for the Technology and Business Innovation Award at this year’s Scottish Renewables Net Zero Transition Awards and was further announced as winners of the Supply Chain Innovation Award at this year’s RenewableUK Global Offshore Wind Awards.
Next Phase of Development
With the offshore charging system scheduled to be ready for deployment in the first quarter of 2023, MJR Power and Automation has been further awarded a second round of UK government funding for development of its offshore charging system technology, to allow the system to further connect and charge Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) and Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) working in the field.
The Service Operational Vessel Offshore Charging System project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
Paul added: “We are delighted to have secured this second round of funding from the Department of Transport that will be absolutely pivotal in supporting the decarbonisation of marine operations. Working with our key partners, who are all experts in their fields, we will take the lessons learned from the first project and apply extensive knowledge to develop this solution and bring it to market, where there is already a huge demand for it.”
