DG Innovate plc (LON:DGI), the advanced research and development company pioneering sustainable and environmentally considerate improvements to electric mobility and energy storage, has announced the completion of the first phase of its project to utilise the Company’s Pareta® e-drive in marine applications.
As previously announced, DG Innovate was awarded grant funding at the beginning of 2023 for a feasibility study into the use of the Company’s Pareta® e-drive for marine operations alongside a partner providing a hydrogen fuel cell power system. This project has now delivered a fully costed design for an integrated fuel cell and powertrain system using the Company’s technology. With no gearbox involved the driveline is much more efficient and reliable compared to the current diesel engine / gearbox system, together with offering the benefits of zero emissions.
The system design was overseen and guided by Lloyd’s Register’s risk-based design guidelines and DG Innovate is pleased to report that “Approval in Principle” has now been received from Lloyd’s Register for the Company’s Pareta® e-drive system to be fitted to marine vessels – one of the primary target outcomes from the project.
Utilising DG Innovate’s high efficiency modular drive motor and integrated inverter, the project has defined a system level segmented marinised fuel cell energy supply, feeding a similarly segmented driveline delivering circa 3MW power. The system is designed to deliver zero-emission power to a ship saving approximately 1700kg of CO2 equivalent per hour at 3MW as compared to diesel powered vessels.
The primary near term potential market for a circa 3MW system is expected to be power for workboats and crew transfer vessels servicing offshore installations in the North Sea and elsewhere. Hundreds of such vessels are expected to be commissioned in the UK to service wind farms and other offshore installations.
The next stage of the project, for which the Company expects to receive further grant funding, will lead towards a full demonstration vessel project.
Commenting, Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen, CEO of DG Innovate, said: “As I noted when I was appointed, the technology the DGI team has developed is exceptional. The marine sector is just one addressable market for DGI’s Enhanced Drive Technology, alongside road transport and other applications that we are also focused on. The potential demand for zero emission marine vessels is enormous and I believe the enhanced reliability, performance and compact nature of our novel motor technology will be very appealing to marine operators. We look forward to the next stage of this project.
“We are heavily focussed on leveraging all of DG Innovate’s technology as we seek to build a scaled business focused on green technology and I look forward to providing further updates in due course.”
