Eco Marine Power (EMP) announced on Monday that it has received the acceptance from ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai) for its Aquarius Marine Solar Power solution as installed on classed vessels. The acceptance of this system is a major step forward for EMP and brings to the shipping market a renewable energy solution that can be integrated with other systems on-board ships.
Eco Marine Power will now move forward and release two marine solar power packages: Aquarius Marine Solar Power and Aquarius MAS + Solar - with the latter including additional hardware and software that allows the system to perform functions such fuel oil consumption monitoring. These marine solar power systems from EMP include a marine computer system with LCD monitor, marine-grade solar power panels, battery charge controllers, energy storage, data communication devices and interface/control units.
Power from an Aquarius Marine Solar Power solution can be used for DC or AC loads (via an inverter) and can also be used to provide a reliable source of back-up power which, unlike standard battery-back up systems can be recharged via the marine solar panel array.
Each marine solar power solution from EMP incorporates the Aquarius MAS (Management and Automation System). This compact marine computer monitors the performance of the solar power array(s) & battery pack plus logs data, switches equipment on/off, calculates vessel emissions, records fuel consumption and displays system alarms. In addition the Aquarius MAS can monitor system performance and alarms from a wide variety of other equipment and sensors installed on ships.
The Aquarius MAS hardware & software platform is based upon the reliable and robust KEI 3240 Data Logger which is already in use on hundreds of vessels including tug boats, training ships, tankers and bulk ore carriers.
Energy storage options for EMP’s marine solar power solutions are provided by the Furukawa Battery Company of Japan and include FC38-12 Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries (as installed on Blue Star Delos) or FCP-500/FCP-1000 series batteries. FC38-12 batteries are ideal for solar power installations up to around 5kWp. A major advantage of the FC38-12 battery is that it’s relatively small size and light weight makes it ideal for installation into small (but ventilated) spaces on-board ships and other vessels.
FCP (Furukawa Cycle Power) series battery units are a safe and high quality energy storage solution for larger- scale marine solar power installations. These long life batteries (with a lifespan of up to approximately 15 years) are ideally suited to renewable energy applications and are supplied in a modular rack which reduces installation time.
An Aquarius Marine Solar Power or Aquarius MAS + Solar package is suitable for new-building projects and can also be retrofitted to existing vessels. A marine solar power system from EMP can also be integrated with wind power devices including EMP’s EnergySail® technology (under development).
Commenting on this significant step forward Greg Atkinson, Chief Technology Officer of EMP said, “The acceptance from ClassNK of our standard marine solar power system is a major step forward towards bringing type-approved renewable energy solutions to the shipping, marine and offshore industries. It is also becoming clear that solar power has an important role to play on ships in terms of reducing fuel consumption and harmful emissions.”
In addition to providing integrated marine solar power systems, EMP can also arrange installation support, the design & supply of deck frames for solar panels (if required), project management services and on-site installation supervision. A full turn-key installation service is also available and can be supported from technical service hubs in Japan, Singapore and Greece.
For more information about EMP’s marine solar power solutions please see: www.ecomarinepower.com/aquarius-marine-solar-power
About Eco Marine Power
Eco Marine Power Co. Ltd. (EMP) is an internationally focused technology company that develops renewable energy based fuel saving and emission reduction solutions for ships including passenger ferries, survey ships, oil tankers and cargo vessels. These technologies include the EnergySail®, Aquarius Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) System and Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS).
EMP also develops sustainable ship concepts that incorporate the latest renewable energy technologies and is currently working on a number of design projects including Aquarius Eco Ship and Aquarius Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV). The company is based in Fukuoka, Japan.
To read more about Eco Marine Power please visit: www.ecomarinepower.com
Media Contact
Greg Atkinson
Director & Chief Technology Officer
Phone: +81 92 287 9677
E-mail: greg.atkinson@ecomarinepower.com
Aquarius MAS and EnergySail are trademarks of Eco Marine Power Co. Ltd.
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