Corvus batteries for polar cruise vessels

The Orca Energy ESS will provide supplemental energy to the vessels in order to improve performance and reduce both operating costs and emissions.

Halvard Hauso, SVP Business Development, Corvus Energy, said: “Corvus is honoured to have Orca ESS as an integral part of the customer’s objective of designing these ships with the world’s most innovative ship technology.”

“Orca’s advancements on safety and performance have not only caught this customer’s attention but also the attention of ship builders and integrators around the globe.”

The two new state-of-the-art vessels will be designed and customised specifically for polar expedition voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as along the Norwegian coastline.

Each polar exploration vessel has capacity for a 6MWh Orca Energy ESS to provide operational power. The Energy Storage System will not only reduce fuel and operating costs but it will also drastically reduce the environmental impact of each vessel.

The vessels will be capable of sailing silently on ESS battery power alone into pristine locations, lifting the natural experience to an entirely new level for cruise ships.

There have been several significant vessel orders in the polar cruise segment in the past months, including Norwegian company Hurtigruten’s order for two 600-passenger ships, which will be built by Kleven Werft to a design and propulsion configuration developed jointly by Hurtigruten and Rolls-Royce.