Orca battery system set up. The Battery Short-Circuit Limiter (BSCL) developed by The Switch will allow lowered quick circuit present and lowered system measurement for big battery system installations
Leading maritime vitality storage system producer Corvus Energy is teaming with Finnish-based Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch. Under a 3 yr settlement, Corvus would be the Finnish firm’s most popular associate within the improvement of its good Battery Short-Circuit Limiter (BSCL) safety machine for large-scale battery options and superior DC energy distribution.
SOLVING THE SCALABILITY CHALLENGE
Connecting high-energy-content batteries to 1 electrical system carries a excessive danger of releasing a large quantity of short-term present that can lead to system harm. Consequently, battery packs need to be cut up between a number of DC-hubs to deal with the quantity of vitality. The extra batteries you hook up, the extra DC-hubs could be required – theoretically as much as eight for a 20 MWh ESS. The innovation that the BSCL brings is to restrict short-term present from every set of batteries, instantly blocking the short-circuit system. This permits extra batteries to be linked to {the electrical} system and fewer DC-Hubs, making the complete system extra compact and representing a big monetary saving. The area saving by way of cupboard size means much less CAPEX whereas on the similar time selling security, effectivity and reliability.
MICROSECOND RESPONSE
“The BSCL is essentially an ultra-fast, semi-conductor-based protection device that operates based on actual system measurements with microsecond response,” says Teemu Heikkilä, head of product line, converters at Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch. “It opens the DC electrical circuit by disconnecting a battery set in the event of a fault anywhere in the system, preventing the battery set from discharging itself. Such a sudden release of energy could result in major damage and, in the worst case, an electrical fire. BSCL minimizes the risk by stopping the energy loss in microseconds.”
“From a technical perspective, the market hasn’t yet come to grips with this connectivity challenge,” continues Heikkilä. “Class rules, which were primarily designed for AC/DC systems, are lagging behind the rapid pace of technology in DC power distribution. The BSCL is the first product fit for purpose with battery systems that are getting bigger almost by the day. Its key benefit, mirroring the electrification trend where the larger the ESS the bettery, is that you can increase the energy content of the ESS while minimizing the number of parallel systems required. In principle, implementing BSCL means you still only need two DC-hubs for an ESS up to 40 MWh, so the savings grow in tandem with the size of the battery package.”
COMPLEMENTING CORVUS ENERGY’S LARGE BATTERY SYSTEM INSTALLATIONS
While battery programs on board ships till now have been restricted to beneath 10 MWh installations, future tasks are growing to many instances this measurement. The BSCL machine works for the complete Corvus ESS portfolio, together with Corvus Orca, however is especially suited to Corvus Energy’s Blue Whale ESS, which is designed to satisfy giant operational vitality calls for at an economical kWh worth. The Blue Whale system has been particularly developed for big battery installations starting from 10 MWh and upwards. Typical vessel purposes embody cruise ships in addition to giant ferries, yachts, service provider ships, inland vessels and workboats.
The Battery Short-Circuit Limiter (BSCL) is a standalone product to be positioned near the batteries and between drives. The area saving it generates enhances Blue Whale’s low weight and low complete system quantity. The BSCL may also be retrofitted to present programs for additional safety.
The BSCL is carefully associated to Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch’s lately launched Electronic Bus Link (EBL) and Electronic DC Breaker (EDCB) units designed to ensure selectivity and security by means of ultra-rapid fault detection and disconnection, making certain full redundancy in DC energy distribution for absolutely electrical and hybrid vessels. Both units at the moment are normal constructing blocks within the firm’s marine drive providing. They allow The Switch DC-hubs to carry out on the highest requirements of effectivity and reliability, delivering most system safety and ride-through functionality.
