Ship&Offshore | Ausgabe 04/2025
A better class of hybrid
With the sharp reduction in the cost of batteries, converting existing diesel-electric vessels into hybrids has become a clear strategy for improving overall efficiency. Ship hybridisation is even pulling ahead of the automotive industry, which only recently has caught on to the benefits of generator-connected ‘series’ hybrids, of which more below. In a ‘parallel’ hybrid, as the name suggests, both engine power and motor power are used simultaneously to provide energy and propel the vehicle. Until now, this is the way that all hybrid cars have operated, tempering their efficiency improvements....