IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 31

a three-point fjord-crossing route on the regional road
network close to the headquarters of Wärtsilä Norway on
the island of Stord, south of the coastal city of Bergen on
the west coast of Norway. An overview of the location is
shown in Figure 10. The MS Folgefonn is being utilized as a
demonstration vessel for marine propulsion systems and
new technologies for low- or zero-emission coastal transportation within the Norwegian maritime industry cluster
MaritimeCleanTech. Thus, the vessel has been converted
into a plug-in hybrid ferry, with onboard battery storage
and the possibility to run purely in battery-powered mode,
as well as in hybrid mode for fuel saving in addition to
conventional diesel-electric mode.
The westernmost dock where the ferry arrives has
already been equipped with a charging arrangement,
where various solutions for plug-based connections have
been tested. The onshore installation also includes a battery for enabling short-term charging with power beyond
the capacity of the local grid. The inductive charging system will be supplied from the existing power system on
the dock, and it will be installed on the same onshore
platform as a vacuum mooring system from Cavotec. The
vacuum mooring system will be installed for saving
energy, since automated mooring during the docking
period will allow the propeller drives of the ferry to shut
off. Without the automated mooring system, the ferry
would have to continuously run the propulsion system to
push the vessel into the dock and safely maintain the
position during loading/unloading. Thus, the vacuum
mooring system will help to reduce the requirements for
the amount of energy that must be transferred to the
ferry for each stop in case of a fully battery-powered
operation, or it will increase the range of purely batterybased propulsion in the case of a plug-in hybrid operation. A preliminary design of the intended installation is
shown in Figure 11, where the vacuum mooring system
is shown to the left and the inductive charging system is
shown to the right. As shown in the figure, the sendingside coil in the onshore installation will be mounted on a
hydraulic arm. This arrangement will allow a slow positioning of the coil according to the changing tide over the
day. The arm will remain in a fixed position during
charging, and any movements of the vessel during operation will be compensated for by the control of the power
conversion systems.
The installation of the system began during the first
months of 2017, and pilot operation with inductive
charging of the batteries at the full power rating of the
system is expected from late autumn 2017. The receiving coil and associated power conversion system
onboard the MS Folgefonn were already installed in
January 2017, and, by March, the fundaments for the
onshore installation was under construction, as shown
in Figures 12 and 13.
The installation on the MS Folgefonn will be the first
application of high-power inductive charging in the

Figure 10. The location of the ferry route for the MS Folgefonn in Norway.

Figure 11. Initial design illustrating the planned installation of
wireless inductive charging, to be operated from the same fundament
as a vacuum mooring system from Cavotec. (Image courtesy of
Wärtsilä Norway AS.)

Figure 12. The system installation to be demonstrated onboard the
MS Folgefonn. (Photo courtesy of Wärtsilä Norway AS.)

marine sector, and it will also be the first regular operation
of an inductive charging system exceeding a 1-MW power
transfer capacity. A test period of roughly six months is
planned to gain experience with the operation of the system before it is ready for industrialization and any future
fully commercial installations.

Conclusions
This article has presented the background and results of a
Norwegian initiative aimed at developing high-power
inductive charging technology for marine applications. It
was explained how ships with plug-in hybrid or fully
battery-based propulsion systems can significantly
benefit from the automated operation enabled by inductive
charging systems, while also avoiding reliability concerns
	

IEEE Elec trific ation Magazine / S EP T EM BE R 2 0 1 7

31



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017

IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - Cover1
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - Cover2
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 1
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 2
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 3
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 4
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 5
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 6
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 7
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 8
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 9
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 10
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 11
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 12
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 13
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 14
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 15
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 16
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 17
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 18
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 19
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 20
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 21
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 22
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 23
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 24
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 25
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 26
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 27
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 28
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 29
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 30
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 31
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 32
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 33
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 34
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 35
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 36
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 37
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 38
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 39
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 40
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 41
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 42
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 43
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 44
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 45
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 46
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 47
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 48
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 49
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 50
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 51
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 52
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 53
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 54
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 55
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 56
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 57
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 58
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 59
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 60
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 61
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 62
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 63
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 64
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 65
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 66
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 67
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 68
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 69
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 70
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 71
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 72
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 73
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 74
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 75
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 76
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 77
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 78
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 79
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 80
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 81
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 82
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 83
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 84
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 85
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 86
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 87
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - 88
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - Cover3
IEEE Electrification Magazine - September 2017 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_march2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_june2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_december2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pes/electrification_september2013
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com