NES to supply battery pack to construction vessel

Volstad Maritime has contracted Norwegian Electric Systems AS (NES) to deliver the battery pack and associated control system for battery charging to the Grand Canyon III offshore construction vessel.

Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) will supply a battery pack and controls to the offshore construction vessel Grand Canyon III. (Photo: Volstad Maritime)

NES, which specializes in sustainable energy design and intelligent controls, will provide the equipment to the vessel in connection with an upgrade in early 2023. The company will manage the project from its headquarters in Bergen, Norway. NES has not disclosed the value of the contract.

“The demand for retrofitting battery power on board offshore vessels continues to grow as many shipowners, such as Volstad Maritime, are dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint. Lower operating expenditure through reduced fuel consumption is an additional, attractive benefit,” says Egil Bremnes, sales manager at NES.

Before the summer, NES signed a similar contract for Volstad Maritime’s subsea construction vessel Volantis. While the Volantis battery pack will be installed in a dedicated battery room, the battery pack on board the Grand Canyon III will be installed in a container below the deck.

“Installing the battery pack as a container-based solution can be very cost-efficient for vessels since you do not need to build a dedicated battery room”, says Trond Volstad, project manager at Volstad Maritime.

Grand Canyon III is a 127.5 m offshore construction vessel equipped with a 250-tonne offshore crane. Following the upgrade to battery power notation in early 2023, the vessel will enter a five-year charter with Helix Energy Solutions.