News

      We are committed to the electrification of the maritime sector

      10 June 2025

      descarbonización del sector marino

      "We are creating a safer energy storage system that facilitates the electrification of ships"

      We are working on the decarbonisation of the maritime sector along with the Basque Maritime Forum through light, clean and efficient propulsion systems

      The HARPOONERS initiative aims to work on the development of the next generation of high-voltage battery storage systems for maritime and inland waterway vessels in order to improve the safety, competitiveness and operational reliability of these vessels, as well as optimising their energy storage systems.

      To develop this technology, power electronics and digital twins have been combined for high-voltage applications with cooling and energy storage systems.

      The technology developed at HARPOONERS will be applied to maritime and inland waterway vessels by developing an innovative, modular and flexible technology that will interconnect battery storage systems with the high-voltage grids on board ships, eliminating the need for transformers and cooling systems.

      • These battery modules will be integrated with the power electronics which will eliminate transformers through a direct connection to the ship's mains, achieving weight reduction.
      • Using this innovative mechanism, a safer energy storage system will be created that will facilitate the electrification of small and medium-sized vessels, decarbonising the industry and reducing the environmental impact and CO2 emissions of vessels, as well as lowering manufacturing and maintenance costs.

      Project Leaders

      Along with the other partners, we are working on the design of the modular and multi-level power electronics architecture. We are also looking into cybersecurity strategies for energy efficiency control and modelling of the digital twin. We are also working on the analysis of cooling systems and real-time fault detection to increase the reliability and safety of the propulsion system.

      The project involves the participation of 13 European entities: the Basque Maritime Forum; TECNALIA; the Valenciaport Foundation; Power Electronics (Valencia); AIT Austrian Institute of Technology (Austria); Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium); Inlecom Group (Belgium); Opleidingscentrum voor Hout en Bouw (Belgium); Lalemant (Belgium); Grimaldi Euromed SpA (Italy); Corvus Energy Norway (Norway); Lloyd's Register EMEA (United Kingdom) and Elkon Elektrik (Turkey).