Siemens Corporate Technology
,
Siemens I&S Marine Solutionsand
A&D Large Drivesdivisions, have together developed a new type of propulsion motor for all-electric ships (AES).
The synchronous machine is part of an electric propulsion system based on high temperature superconducting technology (HTS). The HTS engine generates 4MW of power at a torque of over 300kNm.
The superconductors of the rotor windings carry a current density 100 times greater than that in conventional copper windings, giving weight and volume reduction. There are no electrical losses with HTS, which achieves greater efficiency.
The enclosed, self-regulating system, which cools the superconducting rotor windings of the motor to a temperature of 27K, cools economically with a low level of maintenance required. As a result, Siemens says it is possible to design more energy-efficient ships with more effective capacity usage that have less environmental impact and are cheaper to operate.
Three partners, TransMIT Gesellschaft für Technologietransfer, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam, are also backing the project, which is being co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology.
Comment: Waste heat could hold the key to net zero and beyond
The main issue in using nuclear heating is that it needs to be a simple low-cost system rather than a massive power station project. There have been...