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leviating strain on umbilicals, and act must be factored into the overall design cy, and reliability across various subsea as backup power, ensuring consistent and cost. While these considerations can applications. While they cannot replace power delivery. This redundancy is cru- add complexity, they ensure the solution umbilicals entirely, they are indispens- cial in mission-critical applications like is robust and ? t-for-purpose. able, addressing many of the challenges oil and gas extraction or environmental Subsea batteries can transform how we associated with traditional systems, es- monitoring. Together, these technolo- power underwater equipment by intro- pecially as subsea operations expand in gies deliver cost savings, improved ef- ducing ? exibility, modularity, ef? cien- distance, depth, or autonomy.

? ciency, and enhanced system reliabil- ity. In the case of ROVs, batteries can eliminate the need for larger umbilicals for deeper deployment, since an exist- ing umbilical gauge can charge onboard batteries without needing a burst of en- ergy. Then, the onboard batteries handle the dynamic power bursts needed by the

ROV actuators or thrusters.

Getting it Right

Specialist subsea battery manufactur- ers like Southwest Electronic Energy (SWE) can provide comprehensive bat- tery sizing and cost estimates tailored to the depth and power requirements of subsea operations. This process begins with an assessment of the voltage lev- els, power load pro? les, and duration needed to operate the subsea equipment.

Based on this analysis, SWE can pro- vide a clear breakdown of the costs for the required battery system.

For brown? eld sites where existing umbilical infrastructure is already in use, it is important not to overtax the current system when expanding opera- tions. In these cases, it is recommended to support the system with batteries ca- pable of handling the additional power during peak demand periods. Then, the batteries can be charged via. the existing umbilical using low-power supply dur- ing nominal demand periods to avoid straining the system. The gradual charg- ing process enables the battery to store energy over time, ensuring it is ready to deliver high-power output when needed.

The speci? c requirements for a bat- tery-umbilical system depend on the application. For example, subsea activi- ties involving chemical dispersal may require enhanced energy storage to sup- port consistent and controlled outputs.

Additionally, any changes to the infra- structure — such as adding new equip- ment or modifying existing systems — www.marinetechnologynews.com 15

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