The solution will be checked in 2021 on one of the offshore wind farms at Ørsted.

The buoy can be used to charge smaller battery- or hybrid-electric vessels and to supply larger vessels with fuel, allowing them to turn their motors off when idle.

Maersk Supply Service, a part of A.P, has built the prototype buoy. Though Ørsted is responsible for the integration of the buoy with the electrical grid at the offshore wind farm, Moller-Maersk.

The charging buoy will be tested in the second half of 2021, with one of Ørsted 's service vessels supplying overnight control.

In order to optimize the potential for this carbon reduction innovation throughout the offshore wind market, Ørsted intends to make any intellectual property created in the design of the integration of the buoy into the offshore wind asset publicly accessible.

Maersk Supply Service obtained one of the largest EUDP grants for the demonstration phase of the project in 2020, funding the engineering and demonstration of the power buoy with DKK 22 million (EUR 2.95 million). Initial funding to conceptualise the project has been provided by the Danish Maritime Fund.

“Ørsted has set the ambitious target of having carbon neutral operations in 2025, which includes the operations of our offshore wind farms,” stated Mark Porter, Senior Vice President and Head of Operations at Ørsted Offshore.

“The charging buoy tackles a multitude of problems; lower emissions, offering a safe mooring point for vessels, better power efficiency and eliminating engine noise. This is also a solution that can be implemented on a global scale, and one that can be adapted as the maritime industry moves towards hybridisation and electrification,” stated Jonas Munch Agerskov, Managing Director for Offshore Renewables at Maersk Supply Service.

Maritime Business World