The Switch said its electrical drive train, which is based on permanent magnet technology, provides advance control with a permanent magnet motor and a frequency converter. This can provide the shipping industry with new options for hybrid propulsion systems.
This, said the company, enables vessels to produce electricity with better efficiency for the entire ship’s network, lowers costs by keeping auxiliary generators off and allows the main engines to operate at variable speeds and generate electricity.
This could provide savings for vessels with four and two-stroke engines.
Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen, The Switch’s president and CEO, said: "Soaring fuel prices, global overcapacity and lower profit margins are forcing shipbuilders to rethink conventional power configurations.
"This has opened the way for advanced technologies that are revolutionising the way ships generate and use energy for the good of the environment.
"Our drive train technology is a game changing opportunity for hybrid propulsion systems, namely in the large merchant shipping sector, where two-stroke main engines are the preferred type of prime mover."
