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Wabtec to advance electrification of vessels in HYPOBATT project

Photo: Wabtec Ferry Charger.jpg
Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) is working to advance the electrification of vessels by participating in the HYPOBATT (Hyper powered vessel battery charging system) project, which is part of the EU-wide Horizon initiative.

The HYPOBATT is focused on developing a megawatt-charging standard and infrastructure for ferries in European ports.

“Europe has aggressive sustainability targets to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 40% until 2030,” said Olivier Kompaore, Vice President for Industry Product Line at Wabtec. “This project will help to standardize a modular, fast, and easy multi-megawatt charging system, paving the way for clean, zero-emission and competitive solutions for maritime transportation. Wabtec’s state-of-the-art charging solutions, like FerryCHARGER, will serve as the blueprint for the project.”

Wabtec is working in a consortium with 18 partners who are responsible for a 42-month project to identify maritime charging solutions that reduce contact time, wait time, and maintenance cost. The HYPOBATT project’s goal is to deliver a modular, fast, and simple multi-megawatt charging system. 

The project also will develop a fully automatic and safe electric ship connection system with the capacity to fully charge a vessel’s battery while at the dock. The consortium is targeting to reduce connection time to less than 30 seconds, charging time by 10%, and space dock side for the system by 20%. In addition, the project aims to improve charger availability by 95 percent and battery life by 10%.

The consortium will demonstrate the technology at the ports of Norddeich and Norderney, Germany.  The testing will be conducted on a vessel of the Reederei Norden-Frisia shipping company.