Norwegian Government Supports Project to Develop Offshore Charging Solutions

The Norwegian Government has awarded Vard Group and the Ocean Charger project partners NOK 38 million (approximately EUR 3.6 million) for the development of offshore charging solutions.

The Ocean Charger project’s primary goal is to develop and demonstrate an offshore charging solution for battery-powered ships.

By connecting vessels to the power grid in the wind farm and charging batteries regularly, the operational availability of emissions-free vessel operations will be secured, Vard said.

According to the company, the aim is to power operations in the field without using any additional energy sources.

The project received funds through Norway’s Green Platform Initiative which focuses on accelerating the growth of green businesses in Norway.

“The offshore wind industry is becoming increasingly important not only for the green energy transition but also for national value creation”, said Håvard Vollset Lien, VP of Research & Innovation in the Vard Group.

“With our leading team of experienced professionals, we will evaluate different solutions and business models supplying various offshore vessels with green energy. As this market is growing rapidly, we see a unique opportunity for Norway to be the leading provider”.

The three-year Ocean Charger project will kick off in 2023 and will include research, testing, validation, and commercialization of new technological solutions for energy transfer to battery-powered ships.

“Through this project, we will enable continuous zero-emission operations on the Norwegian continental shelf for the first time,” said Øystein Huglen, Maritime CleanTech Head of Innovation.

Vard Design will lead the work together with sister companies Seaonics and Vard Electro, partners Rem Offshore, Solstad Offshore, SINTEF Energi, SINTEF Ocean, DigiCat, Sustainable Energy, Equinor, Source Energie, Corvus Energy, Plug, Shoreline, Marin Energi Testsenter, University of Bergen, Norce and Maritime CleanTech.

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