V-ACCESS Project
Advancing electrification and energy storage for climate-neutral waterborne transport
| Business | Period | PROJECT COORDINATOR | Funding Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine | February 2023-January 2026 |
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency | EU Horizon Europe |
Challenge
Electrification and electrical energy storage are at the same time major drivers and major challenges to move the waterborne sector towards climate neutrality and decarbonization.
“Vessel Advanced Clustered and Coordinated Energy Storage Systems” (V-Access) project received funding from EU Horizon Europe research and innovation program under Grant Agreement no. 101096831 to:
- Develop innovative energy storage for marine application
- Create solutions to improve energy efficiency using energy storage on electric vessels
- Make an assessment of carbon reduction using advanced energy storage
- Carry out preliminary integration, and safety studies (risk assessment)
The key work streams encompass innovative energy storage for marine applications, enhancing energy efficiency through ESS implementation on electric vessels, assessing carbon reduction through advanced energy storage, and conducting preliminary integration and safety studies.
Approach
The key activities for RINA include the verification of the reliable design and development of new types of ESS (energy storage systems) and DC/AC power distribution, analysis of vessel and energy storage characteristics, safe integration of the ESS technology on board, the optimal design of the energy management system to maximize operational flexibility and energy efficiency in both full-electric and hybrid configurations, risk assessment aimed at identifying all risks and hazards relevant to the use of novel ESS.
We will support the technological partners of the project on marine regulatory compliance, risk analysis, the technology qualification process of innovative solutions, testing, and safety issues.
We will lead the task on "Standardization and regulations for vessel use case" guiding the partners for regulatory compliance using the provisions in force applicable to the design, testing, and integration on board of the technologies. In due course, based upon the gaps and the lessons learned, the applicable regulatory framework (Class and Statutory requirements) will be revised and updated as necessary and issued in the form of Rule amendments, Additional Class Notations, Guidelines, and instructions.
Based on the project's evolution, we expect to contribute to the Technology Qualification Process and approval in principle.
Conclusion
The general outcome of V-ACCESS will further facilitate the transition of the waterborne sector towards climate neutrality and environmental stewardship.
The project brings together expertise on supercapacitors, superconductive magnetic energy storage systems (SMES), design and control of shipboard power systems, power electronics, lifetime cycle analysis, and ship classification to increase the technology readiness level (TRL) of hybrid storage systems. These systems combine a battery with either supercapacitors, SMES, or both, and they will be integrated into an innovative DC shipboard microgrid to flexibly control power sharing between the different energy storage technologies.
With electrification of vessels, retrofitting solutions, and digital green technologies, V-Access will help ship owners and shipyards adopt justified, sustainable, and cost-efficient electrification solutions in their existing fleet and new ships. This will provide maximum leverage of the benefits and accelerate the market uptake of the proposed solutions. The project will enable ship owners to electrify their fleet more effectively, progressively scaling up the electric energy and power availability to meet the needs of a wide variety of vessels for seagoing and inland waterway operations.
