UK-based marine electrical engineering company MJR Power and Automation has been granted a second round of government funding for the development of its offshore charging system – technology which works by connecting and charging service operation vessels (SOVs) that are conducting works at sea.
The company’s project, named the Service Operational Vessel Offshore Charging System, is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) which is funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. To date, £14m (U$15.5m) has been granted to 31 projects in the UK for clean maritime solutions.
Following the grant, MJR Power and Automation will accelerate the development of its offshore charging technology system which enables an array of vessel types, including SOVs and platform supply vessels, to charge while at sea using a 100% green energy source generated by offshore wind turbines.
The company previously received first-round funding from the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. This resulted in an electrical offshore charging vessel system for crew transfer vessels which is now in the final stages of testing, with deployment of the technology scheduled for the near future.
The second phase of funding will be used by the company to lead a consortium of maritime decarbonization partners to ensure the project is delivered over the next eight months.
In the UK, it is estimated that offshore work vessels running on marine gasoil produce approximately 285,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. By implementing the charging technology, MJR Power and Automation aims to increase the uptake of fully electric and sustainable forms of propulsion within the maritime sector for both retrofit and new-build vessels.
“We are delighted to have secured this second round of funding from the Department of Transport that will be absolutely pivotal in supporting the decarbonization of marine operations,” said Paul Cairns, managing director, MJR Power and Automation. “Working with our key partners, who are all experts in their fields, we will take the lessons learned from the first project and apply extensive knowledge to develop this solution and bring it to market, where there is already a huge demand for it.”
