Clean energy replaces fuel and intelligent systems replace labor. The reform is not only sweeping the automotive field, but also in the ascendant in the shipbuilding field. Hydrogen fuel cell, lithium iron phosphate battery, dual fuel power, oil electric hybrid power and other power systems are used for passenger ships, cargo ships, engineering ships, work ships and other ships of all sizes. They are emerging in a variety of scenarios such as inland navigation, water area cleaning, maritime transportation and so on.
Low carbon and environmental protection, new energy for ships
Recently, in Yichang section of the Yangtze River, a cruise ship shuttled back and forth, attracting attention. No matter on the deck or in the cabin, passengers can not hear the roar of the engine or the pungent smell of diesel oil. They can only hear the sound of wind and waves, and all they can see is the intoxicating river scenery.
It is "Yangtze Three Gorges 1". It is a pure electric cruise ship, 100 meters long, 16.3 meters wide and 4 floors high. It was jointly developed and built by the Three Gorges group and Hubei Three Gorges Tourism (002627) group. It is a real "big guy".
How big a battery does such a big ship need?
"The 'Yangtze Three Gorges 1' has four battery silos, equipped with 720 Ningde Shidai (300750) lithium iron phosphate power battery packs, with a capacity of 7500 kwh, equivalent to the total battery capacity of more than 100 electric vehicles. It is the largest marine battery in the world, and the power has all been nationalized." Said Zhang Yu, business manager of the technical management department of the Three Gorges power company of the Three Gorges group.
The electric energy replaces the diesel, and there is no annoying noise and odor, and there is no diesel engine tremor from time to time. The ship is more stable and quiet. "Electricity comes from clean hydropower in the Three Gorges. Compared with traditional power ships, it can replace 530 tons of fuel oil every year, reduce 1660 tons of harmful gas emissions, and truly achieve zero emissions." Zhang Yu said. Since its maiden voyage in March this year, the "Three Gorges 1" has sailed more than 40 times, carrying about 30000 passengers in total.
It is not only a passenger ship, but also a lithium iron phosphate power battery. Hydrogen fuel, liquefied natural gas, methanol and other clean energy can replace traditional fuel oil and be applied to large and small ships in various fields, such as passenger ships, cargo ships, engineering ships, and work ships. It has become a new choice for the shipping industry under the trend of global green and low-carbon transformation.
"Ships are one of the important emission sources affecting the atmospheric and marine environment. Under the trend of global green and low-carbon transformation, ship manufacturers must constantly adapt to market changes through the R & D and application of new technologies and equipment." Said heguangwei, deputy chief engineer of CSSC international.
Ships are one of the important emission sources that affect the atmospheric and marine environment
Not long ago, the 49900 ton methanol dual fuel chemical bow ship built by Guangzhou shipbuilding international was completed and delivered in Guangzhou, which is the first green ship built in China with methanol dual fuel power.
"It adopts a methanol dual fuel drive system, which can be driven by four fuel modes: fuel, fuel hydrate, methanol and methanol hydrate. The ship is equipped with a variety of energy-saving devices such as front duct and vortex fin, which can effectively improve propulsion efficiency, save energy consumption and reduce the ship's operating cost. After verification, it can reduce 75% of carbon emissions, 15% of nitrogen emissions and 99% of sulfur and particulate emissions." Heguangwei said.
In the field of clean power ships, Guangzhou shipbuilding international has been deployed for many years. As early as 2017, it delivered the first 1000 ton pure electric zero emission dump ship in China. It is understood that at present, Guangzhou shipbuilding international has ordered 38 hand-held dual fuel powered ships. In addition to methanol dual fuel, there are also ships under construction that use LNG (liquefied natural gas) dual fuel and hybrid power. The company has reached the world leading level in the field of green ship design and construction.
"Green, environmentally friendly, intelligent, safe, flexible and economical ships are more favored by the market, which promotes the continuous innovation of shipbuilding technology, and also opens a new market space for Chinese shipbuilding enterprises." Heguangwei said.
"Big man" and "small quick spirit" all have "great wisdom"
Like new energy vehicles, the large-scale application of clean energy in the field of ships has also led to the improvement of ship intelligence, and new energy ships are becoming more and more "smart". Automatic driving, automatic operation and other complex functions gradually popularized in automobiles are also applied in ships.
After the operation task is set through remote control, the unmanned cleaning boat will operate along the scheduled route, and soon it will return home smoothly loaded with water, grass and floating objects. The sanitation workers do not need to get into the water, but just dump garbage baskets on the bank. When the power is low, the unmanned ship will return, recharge and put into operation.
This is the daily life of Suzhou, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. In this city where the water system extends in all directions, the task of maintaining the water surface environment is heavy. Relying on the traditional manual fishing method, it is not only inefficient and costly, but also dangerous.
"Two workers work 8 hours a day and can complete the daily maintenance of 45 mu of water area. Our small unmanned cleaning ship Smurf can complete the task of cleaning 70 mu of water area within 7.5 hours even if 98% of the water area is covered with floating objects. In extreme weather, the traditional water area cleaning method faces many difficulties. The application of unmanned ships can improve the safety and efficiency." Zhujiannan, CEO of Oka Zhibo, made a comparison.
"The Titan cleaning ship we landed in Suzhou has a maintenance area of between 100 mu and 150 mu. With the wireless charging shore based, the unmanned cleaning ship has successfully replaced the manual. Relying on the water quality monitoring module carried on the ship, it can also track the pollution sources and better protect the water city." Zhujiannan said that the unmanned mowing boat and cleaning boat of Oka smart ship have successfully made a number of technological breakthroughs. Its products have not only been recognized by domestic customers, but also landed in 10 overseas countries. "
Then turn your eyes to the sea. Between Qingdao port (601298) and Dongjiakou port in Shandong Province, the "Zhifei" full of containers braved the wind and waves. This is the first 300teu container ship independently developed by China and is an oil electric hybrid ship. Despite its size, it feels like a "stupid guy". Its "mind" is not simple at all. The curved cab console, a variety of intelligent devices, sailing data, navigation maps, etc. show a full "science and technology model".
"Zhifei can realize the functions of intelligent perception and cognition of the navigation environment, autonomous tracking, autonomous route planning, intelligent collision avoidance, automatic berthing and disembarking and remote control driving, and realize coordination with shore based production, service, dispatching control, supervision and other institutions and facilities such as port, shipping, maritime affairs, aviation insurance, etc. through 5g, satellite communication and other multi network and multi-mode communication systems." Said jianghaiying, chairman of smart navigation (Qingdao) Technology Co., Ltd., the investment and construction subject of "Zhifei".
Green, intelligent, safe, flexible and economical ships are more favored by the market
How important is unmanned to the shipping industry?
"The boring working environment at sea and the dangers of navigation have led to high ship management costs and a shortage of crew. Intelligent shipping has great economic benefits for ship owners. In addition, the future will be a 'key race' in the global intelligent shipping technology competition. Whoever can take the lead in breaking through the key technologies of intelligent shipping and realizing extensive commercial application will have the first opportunity and dominant power in the development of intelligent shipping." Jianghaiying said.
"The demonstration application of 'Zhifei' marks that China has taken the lead in the world in the research, development and application of ship intelligent navigation technology. It is a key step in the transformation of Chinese ships from manual driving to automatic driving and in the construction of an intelligent navigation and control technology system and standard based on ship shore cooperation." Zhangbaochen, chief expert of the think tank of the water transport Research Institute of the Ministry of transport, who took the lead in the overall design of the intelligent navigation system of the "Zhifei" said. During the operation of "Zhifei" among Shandong ports, it will also explore the ship shore cooperative operation of the unmanned container terminal, which is of great significance for building an intelligent shipping comprehensive demonstration area.
Industrial coordination, drawing a new track for domestic ships
The largest ship in the world, internationally advanced and the first ship in China... In the highly complex and comprehensive shipbuilding industry, behind each major innovation, it is often the crystallization of the coordinated research of the industrial chain. Take the "Three Gorges 1" as an example. This is how the "ship battery with the largest battery capacity in the world" came into being.
"The capacity of the battery compartment is limited, and too many batteries will occupy too much volume and weight of the ship, affecting the overall design and construction." Zhang Yu said, "the navigation conditions in the water area are also much more complicated than those in the highway. For example, water vapor erosion will pose a threat to the safety of power batteries, and it is very important to ensure the safe operation of high-capacity batteries."
In addition, avoiding electromagnetic interference between battery packs and difficult charging of high-capacity batteries are also obstacles. Zhang Yu participated in the whole process of research and demonstration and project management of the "Three Gorges Project 1", and the power system was the part he spent the most energy on. "We are working with ship design units, power system integration units, power battery suppliers, etc. to jointly tackle key scientific research problems." Zhang Yu said.
"We use large capacity and high energy density lithium iron phosphate system cells to provide power, and provide voltage and temperature monitoring for each cell, so as to fully ensure the safety and stability of the 'power heart'." "Three Gorges 1" power battery supplier Ningde Times said.
"With the joint efforts of all parties, the Yangtze Three Gorges 1 has made technological breakthroughs in battery pack connection mode, high-voltage interlock and emergency shutdown, high temperature resistance and anti-corrosion treatment, so as to ensure the mechanical, electrical, environmental and thermal safety of the battery system." Zhang Yu introduced.
Ningde times: in the future, we will continue to develop more competitive high safety, long-life power ship batteries
Objectively speaking, unlike new energy vehicles with faster development, electric ships are still in the early stage of market development. "At present, the recognition of battery and hybrid electric ships in the domestic market needs to be improved. The development of ship electrification urgently needs the guidance and support of national policies to promote the relevant enterprises in the industrial chain to overcome the key technologies of electric propulsion, master the production capacity of key core equipment, and form a well-equipped, orderly operated, autonomous and controllable industrial chain system." Heguangwei said.
"In the future, we will continue to develop more competitive high safety and long-life power ship batteries, strengthen industrial cooperation, accelerate the integration of the comprehensive capabilities of motors, electric controls and batteries, improve the overall performance of the three electric appliances, and better serve electric ships." The relevant person in charge of Ningde Times said.
In terms of intelligence, yuqiaochan, associate researcher of the water transport Research Institute of the Ministry of transport, believes that the development of various elements of intelligent shipping is uneven, and the development speed of navigation support, supervision and service is relatively slow, which restricts the overall coordinated development. "The low degree of autonomy of some equipment and devices and the incomplete industrial innovation chain also limit the technical level and market competitiveness of domestic intelligent navigation systems."
However, in the face of the blue ocean of intelligent ships, relevant enterprises are full of expectations. "It will be an inevitable trend for the development of the shipping industry to improve the intelligent level of ships and eventually realize unmanned ships. With the continuous breakthroughs in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies, some key technologies are being developed and improved. As a Chinese enterprise, we sincerely hope that we can leave our own track in the global intelligent shipping competition." Jianghaiying said.
