Company insight
A sustainable evolution in power and propulsion
Between propulsion and power systems, how military vessels operate is changing fast – with major consequences everywhere from efficiency to our environment. Defence and Security Systems International talks to Sindre Sætre of ABB Marine and Ports to learn more, along the way exploring how sustainability is an increasingly important part of naval thinking.
tealth. Automation. Quantum. Naval technology is constantly evolving – and nowhere is this clearer than in power and propulsion. With the increasing availability of DC-based power systems, alongside developments like gearless electric propulsion, countries have an opportunity to launch vessels that are both more efficient, reliable and more sustainable than their predecessors. Yet if the DC power system market is expected to reach $12bn by 2027, implementation isn’t necessarily straightforward. From securing equipment that’s already been proved in the commercial space, to future-proofing ships for deployments over the years ahead, navy planners can gain much by relying on experienced industry partners.
S ABB Onboard DC Grid technology is a tangible disrupter to the defence sector.
the 20th century paradigm – in fields as varied as adaptability, modularity and operational efficiency.
A technical revolution Sindre Sætre has been involved in the maritime arena his whole career. Joining the sector immediately after graduation, the Norwegian has spent most of his working life at ABB. The senior vice president of coast guard and navy at the multinational’s Marine and Ports Division, he has ample first-hand experience of how fast equipment in the sector is developing.
There are plenty of examples to choose from here. When it comes to power systems, for instance, outdated power plants are being converted to DC alternatives. In practice, the benefit of a DC-based power system is the ability to utilise variable speed generators, easy integration and adaptability to new DC-based power sources and consumers such as energy storage and future missions systems. It’s a similar story when it comes to propulsion. For certain vessel types, the latest gearless steerable propulsion systems, housed outside a ship’s hull, are far simpler,
“The strategy we have now moving into more navy and military specification vessels is to utilise the proven in-use solutions and systems which we have been – and are – delivering to commercial ships.”
And as Sætre stresses, many of the old technological certainties around military vessels are vanishing fast. “What we are offering now,” he says, “was not even available some years back.” And if every piece of machinery undoubtedly reflects the technical advances of its age, new developments promise to transform
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making them more efficient and more reliable – and ultimately cheaper. ABB, for its part, has led the development of these varied systems for decades. Strikingly, Sætre explains, much of this work was first pioneered in the commercial maritime space. “We are utilising the expertise that we have gained through
decades in commercial shipbuilding,” he says. “The strategy we have now moving more into navy and military specification vessels is to utilise the proven in-use solutions and systems which we have been – and are – delivering to commercial ships.”
Commercial lessons Altogether, Sætre sees the close development between commercial and military innovation as crucial to ABB’s naval portfolio. “We use commercial-off the-shelf (COTS) components as a base in everything we deliver,” he says. “What we do in addition for military use is to add the other things needed to comply with specific rules.” This approach is valuable for a number of reasons. One of the most salient is cost. Significantly cheaper than procuring specialised military equipment, COTS machinery allows navies to secure ground- breaking technology at scale – without breaking the bank. A major additional benefit is the availability of spare parts is far higher under the COTS model, not least with ABB’s extensive global service network, ensuring navies don’t need to stockpile specialised, expensive replacements in their own shipyards. Testing systems in rugged real-world commercial conditions – ABB’s Azipod electric propulsion system has become
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
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