Page 76: of Marine News Magazine (November 2018)

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PROPULSION

Energy Storage -

Now Relevant for Any Vessel Type

A primer on the quickly evolving topic of on board battery technology.

By Sveinung Odegard nergy storage itself is actually old news. Since the cell does not spread to the adjacent healthy cells. Corvus sails were taken down for good, merchant vessels has also introduced a contained battery solution that leads have crossed the oceans using some kind of ener- any potential gases out of the battery room, and into a

E gy safely stored on board. Be it Coal, Diesel, Gasoline or safe area. These achievements, combined with active bat-

Natural Gas, and regardless of energy type, safe storage tery management systems have increased the con? dence onboard has been vital for safety and completion of the in battery technology signi? cantly. The technology is now planned trip. On the other hand, active use of batteries in accepted as a viable and safe method to transfer energy propulsion systems is relatively new. It started with smaller onboard ships.

vessels, but expanded within a few years into medium and large vessels. What’s unique about batteries?

Batteries are the only major energy storage system that

Improved Performance and Safety can instantly change from providing energy to absorb-

One of the keys to this growth in both capacity and ves- ing excessive energy. The best way to describe this is to sel types has been the new design that exceeds required compare it to a coiled spring. You can compress it further, thermal protection caused by a cell failure, typically called hence making it stronger, or you can release it to allow it thermal runaway. Corvus, for example, has demonstrated to do a job for you. Simply explained, that’s exactly what in multiple tests that an injected failure on one battery batteries can do for you. This feature is unique, and should

November 2018

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