Electric Ship. New Concepts, Power Control Systems, Design Constraints

Maritime transport is faced with increasingly stringent environmental constraints. While carbon dioxide emissions from shipping are still lower than from other modes of transport (per gram, tonne and kilogram), toxic emissions from ship fuel are substantial (sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, particulates). Recent studies have shown that the use phase is responsible for 80% of a ship's life-cycle environmental impact, due to fuel consumption and emissions. These results show the urgent need to introduce less harmful energies, particularly in ports and estuaries and in sensitive areas (ECA – Emission Control Area – in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, etc.).

There are several ways to do this:

• the use of low-carbon alternative energies and renewable energies;

• the development of new means of energy storage;

• improving intrinsic energy efficiency (hybrid architectures adapted to a variety of mission profiles, reduced on-board mass via superconductivity) and component efficiency (new-generation high-efficiency thrusters, auxiliaries, etc.);

• improved energy management through the implementation of real-time measurement and decision-making tools (electrical configuration, control laws) in line with the recommendations and standards of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).