Blue Bunkering of Anchored ships with Renewable Generated Electricity

Project Information

BlueBARGE

Grant agreement ID: 101138694

DOI

10.3030/101138694

EC signature date 22 November 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 11 334 100,00

EU contribution

€ 8 498 001,25

Coordinated by

AMERICAN MPIRO OF SIPING HELLENIC MONOPROSOPI ETAIREIA PERIORISMENIS EVTHINIS
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BlueBARGE (Blue Bunkering of Anchored ships with Renewable Generated Electricity)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

BlueBARGE will design, develop and demonstrate an optimum power-barge solution to mainly support offshore power supply to moored and anchored vessels, limiting local polluting emissions and global GHG footprint in a life cycle perspective, following a modular, scalable, adaptable and flexible design approach which will facilitate its commercialisation by 2030. The proposed power-barge solution will consider different alternatives as containerised power supply modules, with battery modules serving as basis. It will address electrical integration issues, interfacing challenges, operational safety and regulatory compliance aspects, delivering a high-readiness and complete “power bunkering” solution.
Main objectives of BlueBARGE include:
-Design an optimised power-barge innovative solution by considering different alternatives and configurations of containerised power supply modules, following a modular, scalable, adaptable and flexible design approach.
-Develop and demonstrate a scaled-down, benchmark battery power-barge in real-life operational environment, including charging and supplying power both to ships and local grid.
-Showcase the reduction in GHG and other polluting emissions for all BlueBARGE use cases through relevant KPIs, and prove the environmental benefit of the innovative power-barge solution considering a life cycle perspective.
-Assess the financial viability and commercial attractiveness of the power-barge solution by including all applicable costs and deliver a commercialisation plan for its deployment before 2030.
-Perform detailed safety assessment covering all technical and operational aspects of the power-barge solution and assess regulatory compliance.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WP1 ensured effective project coordination with regular monitoring meetings, three General Assemblies, timely deliverables, and an External Advisory Board (EAB) for strategic feedback. WP2 developed use cases, technical specs, and energy demand calculations, validated through stakeholder surveys, with preliminary safety assessments conducted and a detailed review planned post-final design. WP3 defined battery-based and hybrid power modules, developed an Energy Management System (EMS), and initiated the New Technology Qualification (NTQ) process for battery systems. WP4 created an assessment framework ranking BlueBARGE design alternatives, implemented a multi-tier ranking methodology, and launched an optimization tool for scalability and adaptability. WP5 explored 80+ alternative designs, refining them to 9 optimized solutions, developed modular interfacing systems for port-to-barge and barge-to-ship connections, and initiated the Approval-in-Principle process. WP6 outlined battery integration and vessel-to-barge communication strategies, with a planned prototype design extension to M26 for full compliance. WP7 has not yet started but will focus on validating the operational performance of the prototype through testing and demonstration. WP8 developed communication tools (website, social media, events) for outreach, established branding, stakeholder engagement models, and market exploitation plans, defined Key Exploitable Results (KERs), and implemented IPR and sustainability frameworks for commercialization.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

BlueBARGE will build on the power-barge concept, by taking advantage of the flexibility and adaptability it offers. The barge can be equipped with a variety of alternatives in respect to renewable power supply, and designed accordingly to support a modular approach, based on containerized power supply modules. In this respect, BlueBARGE will go beyond the state of the art by introducing the power-barge concept and addressing the challenge of offshore power supply.
It will consider all three categories of alternatives and provide a number of alternative designs as desktop studies. Adopting a three-fold approach of use cases, evaluation criteria and KPIs, and the alternative design cases, the project will deliver an optimised promoted solution to be further examined, formulating a final detailed design. The project will go beyond the state of the art by introducing a feasible choice for flexible, resilient and cost-effective offshore power supply. The mounted innovative hybrid storage system will combine the next generation of marine Li-ion technology with the promising Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) aiming to achieve a pioneer scalable power supply solution for any type of vessel at any anchored location. In addition, since additional modules are considered, the project will examine safety issues posed by the use of highly flammable fuels, such as hydrogen, with onboard sources of ignition (e.g. batteries, electrical interfaces).
It will focus on designing, developing and demonstrating a barge-to-ship connection, as one of the most important challenges of the project. The barge-side interfacing will be designed semi-automated, removing the heavy work, and helping operators establish a safe connection between ship and barge. It will test the innovative interfacing system in real-world environment, and provide with lessons learnt and standards, towards its commercialisation, either for the considered power-barge or beyond.