With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has constructed and commissioned DOE’s first hybrid diesel-electric research vessel known as the RV Resilience.
The 50-foot Resilience is equipped with observation stations, laboratory space, a spacious deck, and an A-frame and crane that allows researchers to transport and deploy research equipment in the water around the Pacific Northwest. The vessel has a 5,000-pound payload and can enable research capabilities including marine power installations, environmental impact studies, acoustic testing and surveys, marine mammal and bird observations, autonomous vehicle launch and recovery, and electrified vessel charging systems.
When powered by the onboard battery bank, the vessel is nearly silent, runs without emissions, and allows over four hours of research operations. This minimizes noise pollution for marine wildlife and enables more sensitive acoustic measurements during research operations.
The Resilience was designed by Incat Crowther and Pacific Power Group and built in collaboration with PNNL by Snow & Company in Seattle, Washington. It was specially designed to support a tailor-made hybrid drive and included advanced safety systems to ensure researchers’ safety. The Resilience can cruise comfortably at 20 knots using diesel engines and up to 7 knots on battery power. Such hybrid vessels aim to have lower emissions though DOE did not say the vessel would run on a sustainable fuel diesel such as biodiesel.
Currently, the team is finalizing operating procedures and training for the Resilience crew. The vessel’s first research endeavor is intended to fully characterize the vessel’s performance and characteristics in different hybrid modes.
Image by Andrea Starr, PNNL
