At the heart of GE Power Conversion’s Marine business lies a 4.5 acre, dedicated, full power, land-based test facility. The Marine Power Test Facility plays a crucial role in de-risking present and future power and propulsion technologies, systems and from product development and verification through to complete, full-scale integrated power and propulsion systems.
With full-scale system validation, the emphasis is on system integration issues and interfaces, not just individual equipment stand-alone performance. That includes testing and emulating third party equipment alongside GE equipment. The facility to do this at full scale and load emulation adds value and can reduce schedules and costs by putting equipment through its paces ahead of ship-fit and sea trials.
The power test facility was originally conceived out of the Electric Ship Technology Demonstrator (ESTD) in 2001 to provide de-risking for Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) concepts for Naval platforms. Over the past 14 years the capability of the facility has grown to become a key GE asset in de-risking all aspects of Marine power and propulsion technologies and other industries for us and our customers. GE is a world leader in designing, providing, and running land based marine test facilities and four quadrant propulsion load emulators.
Some of the most onerous tests yet undertaken on a marine power system have been performed by GE on this site, including full HV and LV short circuits, bad synchronizations of 20MW prime movers and full power ahead to astern crash reversals on full scale ship fit equipment. With full power systems and emulators for HV IFEP systems, hybrid, PTO/PTI, energy storage, DC and other common architectures within the portfolio. Alongside other activities the facility presently provides a key role in supporting key Maritime platforms with dedicated test beds for the major naval ship programs including, QE Class Aircraft Carrier, Type 45, Type 26, Tide Class tankers and future submarines.
Diesel Generators, large grid supply, rotary, and static frequency converters. (Infrastructure for GT’s), Prime mover dynamic emulators.
HV and LV from 33KV, 11kV, 4160 V, 800 –High voltage VDC 690V and 440 VAC 50 and 60Hz supplies along with capability to provide other supplies to meet specific application needs.
From a 20 MW Advanced Induction Motor through to the smallest motors.
20MW VDM25000 15 phase Naval Converter, other Medium Voltage VSI’s through to a range of multi-MW LV AFE MV3000 Converters and other power electronic conversion systems.
The facility hosts an impressive array of load capabilities including over 30MW worth of permanently installed load banks, both resistive , reactive, and dynamic. Alongside this, the facility hosts Four Quadrant Load (4QL) emulators to mimic required propulsion characteristics as if the system were at sea. With the capability to adapt and re-configure to suit various other testing needs.
Plant-wide automation system and control rooms, alongside dedicated fast data acquisition systems for a wide range of plant control, monitoring, and analysis needs. With the capability to incorporate third party automation systems specific to the system under test.
Capability to dissipate up to 20MW in existing site cooling system, large diesel tankage, HP snf LP air, 80MW gas supply available, oil and grease storage and overhead crane facility. office space, meeting rooms and welfare facilities.
Modern marine power systems require solutions to meet the industry’s drive towards decarbonization while still meeting challenging performance and class society criteria. These requirements challenge the marine industry to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency.
With an ever-increasing focus on maritime sector decarbonization, clean marine technologies are high on the maritime industry’s agenda, and a differentiator for our customers’ vessels to stay competitive.
The SeaGreen™ PTO/PTI system is an effective, simple way of creating an electric hybrid on a ship, and helps ship owners improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and meet environmental regulations.
GE’s SEAJET podded propulsion system is the ideal choice of electric propulsion for applications where maneuverability, efficiency or space constraints are very important. The electric motor is housed in the hull-mounted pod under the ship and directly connected to the propeller, freeing up cargo and operational space in the ship. Through system efficiency, total fuel consumption and exhaust emissions are reduced.
Regulation on pollution, emissions and noise in ports is becoming more and more stringent. The resulting requirement for port electrification and higher return on existing assets puts greater demand on ageing infrastructure and increased requirement for use of alternative clean energy supplies.
