Innovative Offshore Technology

MJR Power and Automation has presented its ground-breaking offshore wind vessel charging system at the highly anticipated Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Final Showcase hosted by Department for Transport (DfT), Innovate UK and Innovate UK KTN.

Opened by the Maritime Minister, Robert Courts MP – and held at Portsmouth International Port – the event brought together 55 projects from across the UK that received funding by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK as part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.

As one of the flagship projects - MJR Power and Automation has been able to successfully fast-track the development of the world’s first fully automated offshore wind vessel charging system, demonstrating energy delivered direct from the wind turbine, which the company showcased at the event.

To bring the project into fruition, MJR Power and Automation led a consortium of partners – Ore Catapult; Xceco; Artemis Technologies and Tidal Transit – who all provided expertise in their given field to develop the system in only a matter of seven months.

Most recently, the company has announced construction and in-house testing have now been successfully completed on the offshore charging system that is set to revolutionise the offshore wind sector.

The charge points will enable all electric crew transfer vessels and other offshore support vessels to connect in the field to a 100% green energy source generated directly by the offshore wind turbines for the efficient, safe and reliable transfer of power.

This innovation will break down the existing range barriers and increase the uptake by vessel owners and operators with transition to fully electric and green propulsion systems, for retrofit and new build vessels. In combination with other field proven technologies, the charging system will be an important part for government and offshore wind owners and operators, to achieve their net zero maritime operations targets, and switch away from fossil fuels. The ability to charge when in the field, will significantly accelerate adoption of current emission free propulsion systems which will be a major asset for the decarbonisation of the global maritime sector.

Speaking about the event, Paul Cairns, Managing Director at MJR Power and Automation said: “We are delighted to have been able to showcase our development amongst a series of UK innovators transforming marine operations.

“It has been a monumental achievement for MJR Power and Automation to fast track this ground-breaking development in such a short period of time, with special thanks to our consortium of experts who have been instrumental in driving the project forward.

“With vital schemes, such as this, we have been able to demonstrate our innovative capabilities – coupled with unrivalled knowledge and expertise possessed by our world class team – to develop world leading technology that will be absolutely vital in the decarbonisation of marine operations.”