Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2019)

MARINE POWER: PUT TO THE TEST nnovation in the maritime propul- sion sector – from small high-speed engines to the largest, most power-

Iful slow speed engines – has pro- “IN TERMS OF ELECTRIFICATION, WATERWAY ceeded at breakneck pace in recent years,

TRANSPORT IN BIG CITIES LENDS ITSELF WELL TO driven by new regulations aimed to dra-

ELECTRIFICATION, WHERE THERE IS A matically cut or eliminate altogether car- bon emissions from marine vessels.

PREDICTABILITY, A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE

Volvo Penta has been a driver in this

ENERGY REQUIRED AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR regard, and like most of the major engine companies, it has the heft of a global,

CHARGING STATIONS. SO THE AREA THAT WE multi-market organization behind it.

SEE MOVING FORWARD AT THE FASTEST PACE “The discussion really starts with the

Volvo Group which develops trucks,

FOR FULL ELECTRIFICATION IS PASSENGER

Watch Johan Inden on Maritime construction equipment, busses and

TRANSPORTATION ON CITY WATERWAYS.”

Reporter TV @ www.marinelink.com/ marine equipment,” said Johan Inden, videos/video/power-up-volvo-penta-

President, Region Europe, and head of expands-its-power-range-100333 the Volvo Penta’s global marine seg-

JOHAN INDEN, PRESIDENT, REGION EUROPE, ment. “What we see as the macro driver

AND HEAD OF THE VOLVO PENTA’S GLOBAL are cities becoming more densely popu- lated, and many of these cities are situat-

MARINE SEGMENT ed along major waterways.” Inden notes that more than 50 cities today have sub-

While in previous generations a mari- ment was clearly the star of the compa- and the 5.5 liter D6 engines are designed scribed to the Paris agreement of having time claim of ‘being green’ might have ny’s show at the its global R&D and test- and built solely for marine purposes, and

CO2 neutrality in their plan for the fu- equated to little more than marketing ing center – Krossholmen – earlier this a large portion of the engines have been ture. “With this comes signi? cant invest- ment in their logistics systems. We’re slogan, Inden said that the push for en- year. In a word the performance was ‘su- reengineered to deliver greater power working with several cities, including vironmentally sound solutions is a real perb’ as tested. Part of the Volvo Penta and reliability. The upgrade list is long,

Gothenburg (where we’re from) looking market driver today. “In terms of elec- value proposition is not simply debuting including a new engine management sys- tri? cation, waterway transport in big new product via PowerPoint and tech- tem, anew fuel injection system, a new at building a multi-modal transport sys- cities – whether it’s goods, whether it’s nical speci? cation, but to engage those turbocharger and a new supercharger. tem of electric platforms: electric bus- ses, electric refuse trucks and, of course, passengers – lends itself well to electri- who write about technology via hands- In addition, the cylinder head, pistons, electric vessels on the waterways with ? cation, where there is a predictability, a on trial at sea. and valves are reengineered to withstand clear picture of the energy required and “At Krosholmen we launched the D4 higher torque.

Volvo Penta’s electric propulsion sys- tem. That’s the macro driver: cities are infrastructure for charging stations,” he and D6 range targeting the commercial The engineering modi? cations include said. “So the area that we see moving maritime and the leisure market. We fol- new materials. For example, the cylin- looking at their infrastructure and start- forward at the fastest pace for full elec- lowed up at Norshipping with an upgrade der head, piston and crankshaft are all ing to make investments.”

To this end, as a part of Gothenburg’s tri? cation is passenger transportation on or our D8 engine with a new marine rat- stronger by design and new materials has city waterways. When you move to hy- ing and the introduction of the new IMO been introduced such as a Diamond Like

ElectriCity project, Volvo Penta part- nered with ferry operator, Styrsöbolaget bridization, you widen the business case aftertreatment for the D8 (already avail- Carbon (DLC) coating on the piston pin to introduce electric propulsion to an where you combine a traditional propul- able on the D13),” said Inden. to reduce friction and increase durability. existing ferry that will link both sides of sion system with an electric system.” Full technical speci? cation of the D4 The common rail fuel injection system “Our investment into the R&D that and D6 can be found on page 29, but the now features higher pressure – 2,000 bar. the Göta Älv River. The ferry – Älvsnab- ben 4 – will be converted into an electric goes into this electric propulsion is performance of the units as tested was Controlled by a new Engine Manage- growing. I think it’s important to real- ? awless with the signature Volvo Penta ment System, this enables more precise propulsion vessel with the re? t sched- uled to begin in early 2020. To start the ize though, while we speak more about torque. calibration of parameters controlling process, Volvo Penta ? tted the electric electri? cation, there are many different Available from 150 to 480 hp Volvo the injection, so the engines run even ways of becoming more sustainable and Penta´s D4 and D6 marine engines re- smoother and are more fuel ef? cient.

technology into its own test boat to eval- uate. The test vessel – known as PTA81 investing toward the future,” said Inden. ceived a full overhaul and update to In top spec the D4 now has a maxi- – may be slightly smaller than the ferry, “It’s everything including the fact that deliver a ‘hat-trick’ for vessel owners; mum output of 320 hp, while the D6 in but it has the same batteries, controllers all of our marine engines are classi? ed more power, better reliability and lower top spec boasts 480 hp, offering 10% and electric motors that will be used on for HVO, synthetic diesel that allows cost of ownership. more power across the range while si- you to reduce your carbon footprint by To be succinct, the re-engineering of multaneously delivering 1% to 7% better the Älvsnabben 4. The technology be- ing tested is not just applicable for ferry up to 90% approximately just by using a the D4 and D6 engines are far more than fuel economy.

operations, it will be relevant for most different fuel. That, combined with elec- skin deep, as the company’s philosophy marine electromobility applications, and tri? cation, means that we’re investing in was to ‘look at the system from the pro- Meet the IMO Tier III D8 has been proven elsewhere in the Volvo several different technologies to build a peller to the antenna,’ with more than In step with the rapidly evolving en- platform that is available both today and 300,000 engineering hours and more vironmental requirements, Volvo Penta

Group.

in the long-term.” than 40,000 test hours dedicated to the revealed a D8 engine and after treatment

The development of the PTA81 proto- project. system to meet IMO Tier III, a regula- type is in fact a collaborative effort be- tween Volvo Penta and the Volvo Group, From Macro to Micro And the company has a solid installed tion which stipulates a reduction in nitro-

While much of the chatter in the trade base on which to draw, with more than gen oxides (NOx) emitted of around 75 with considerable technology sharing to help deliver electromobility no matter press tends to look at the big picture, the 100,000 D4 and D6 units already pow- percent compared to current IMO Tier II performance of the Volvo Penta equip- ering boats worldwide. The 3.7 liter D4 levels. The new emissions restrictions the vehicle.

28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • SEPTEMBER 2019

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