Wärtsilä efficiency for UK hybrid ferry

In addition to conventional fuel, the new vessel will be the first ferry to utilise Wärtsilä hybrid battery technology to improve efficiency, reduce exhaust emissions and lower noise level.

“This new Wightlink ferry is designed to be energy efficient and environmentally sustainable using the latest Wärtsilä technologies. In particular, the use of Wärtsilä’s hybrid system represents a state-of-the-art solution for propulsion efficiency, which in turn has a beneficial effect on exhaust emissions,” said Stephan Kuhn, vice president, electrical & automation at Wärtsilä.

The scope includes four six cylinder Wärtsilä 20 generating sets, electrical and automation (E&A) systems, and a sanitary discharge system. Among the E&A systems to be supplied are an integrated automation system (IAS), a power and energy management system (PMS/EMS), and a 690 volt main switchboard.

When completed, the ferry will serve the crossing between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland and Wärtsilä said its solutions will make it the most environmentally sustainable vessel ever on this route.

A notable contributor to this will be the Wärtsilä hybrid management system. This enables a significant energy improvement over conventional systems by running the engines at optimal load and absorbing many of the load fluctuations using batteries.

Delivery of the Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled to commence in spring 2017 and the vessel will enter service in 2018.