PowerBlade Hybrid

The entire marine industry including the offshore Oil & Gas industry is being challenged to reduce pollutant emissions. In the current market situation of low oil prices and hence very low newbuild activity, new and innovative concepts are needed to combine achievement of environmental goals with improved economic viability. Reduction of system cost, as well as reduction of operational cost are essential to increase profitability under such economic climate or conditions. One of the largest potentials for offshore installations and vessels to reduce both operational costs and emissions, is by reducing fuel consumption. This project intends to develop a compact and reliable high efficiency hybrid energy storage system that will enable significant fuel saving on floating drilling vessels with limited space requirements. The hybrid energy system will demonstrate why a hybrid combination of flywheels and battery with its complementary features will be a preferred concept to meet the stringent requirements set in this market. Odfjell Drilling will provide a drilling vessel with NOV drilling system and other supportive power service equipment for use as a case-study and pilot for large-scale testing. The main objective of the project is to answer key issues regarding economic feasibility, energy storage capacity, safety, reliability and lifespan, and specific applications related to rules and regulations for drilling and in this way, show the industry that the new technology behind this concept can be embraced.

The development of the Powerblade Hybrid system will have a major impact on the execution of drilling operations. The project has proved that it is possible to reduce emissions by way of implementing energy recovery systems in harsh environments that you will find on an offshore rig. For the industry this means enabling more effective petroleum extraction operations with reduced emissions and ensures the Norwegian O&G industry are in line with the global effort of reducing harmful climate gases. Using battery and KERS technology on drilling vessels is pioneering work and showing to the industry that this is possible with desired results will provide the industry with the optimism to further advance this technology