The world’s first wind-powered electric ship charging station is here

Supplying the oceans with clean energy is no longer a pipe dream.

From hydrogen ferries to innovative sailing systems designed to reduce the fuel consumption of cargo ships, the waters are slowly but surely becoming greener thanks to a wealth of climate-friendly innovations.

A new electric vehicle charging station developed by Parkwind and MJR Power & Automation is already successfully supplying the seas, according to New Atlas. In fact, it is a world first: a wind-powered electric vehicle charging station in the middle of the Belgian North Sea.

Belgian company Parkwind has built this substation wind farm, which is connected to its Nobelwind wind farm, located 29 miles off the country’s coast. The wind farm has been in operation since 2017, has 50 turbines and is part of a wind farm system that supplies electricity to around 190,000 homes.

But the new charging station not only serves to supply energy to households, but also supplies shipping operations with electricity.

The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable, electric alternative to traditional gas and fuel systems used by maintenance and transport vehicles.

At the beginning of the year, the charging system was transported to the offshore substation and lifted in modules using the substation crane, which resembles an offshore drilling rig.

The installation was successful in less than two days and the test using a crew transfer vessel went smoothly and without disruption to the plant’s operations, according to Parkwind.

“The test has proven that the system can transmit power from a wind farm to the vessels safely and without disrupting the wind farm,” said Kristof Verlinden, operations and maintenance manager at Parkwind, in a statement.

Not only was the test successful, it also shows a number of advantages that these charging stations promise. The station itself is very versatile and supplies smaller crew transfer ships with up to two megawatts of power and larger service vessels with up to eight megawatts.

The station can also be used to supply offshore power to other vessels in standby mode, drastically reducing their emissions from diesel generators.

In addition, the charging station features a hands-free connection and disconnection device so that vessels can connect and disconnect from the charger easily and safely.

It also adapts to different conditions and ensures a stable load even in the roughest seas. It also ensures that the boat stays in place during the charging process.

After testing the charging system, these findings will be incorporated into the first commercial offshore charging system, which MJR plans to deliver in the first quarter of 2025.

With funding from the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership and the UK Department for Transport, Parkwind and MJR experts are confident that deep waters will become cleaner and greener in the future.

“We strive to make all our activities as sustainable as possible,” said Verlinden. “This is a key advantage for our maintenance vessels, who can now directly access green energy from our wind turbines in their work.”

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Header image courtesy of Parkwind