Rolls-Royce’s new MTU hybrid propulsion system to be available for patrol boats

As of 2020, technology company Rolls-Royce will launch a range of completely integrated MTU hybrid ship propulsion systems onto the market.

As informed, the propulsion systems will be made available for patrol boats, work boats, yachts and ferries in a power range extending from around 1,000 kilowatts to 4,000 kilowatts per powertrain.

Rolls-Royce is planning to test a new MTU hybrid system incorporating Series 2000 engines in a yacht in 2019.

“The combination of diesel engines and electric motors, in addition to batteries, will offer our customers significant benefits in a variety of marine applications. The most important being efficiency, environmental compatibility and the flexibility of the propulsion system,” Knut Müller, Head of the Marine and Government Business at MTU, said.

For patrol boats and other applications with very high requirements in terms of speed and performance or a widely varying demand for power, hybrid propulsion systems can offer economic benefits alongside high power output. The lower operating costs of hybrid propulsion systems are also of distinct benefit to operators, according to Rolls-Royce.

The company will be offering complete hybrid propulsion systems from MTU for ships, consisting of MTU internal combustion engines, electric drive modules, transmission systems, batteries, monitoring and control systems, in addition to other electronic components.

As of 2020, systems incorporating MTU Series 2000 engines combined with one or two electric motors per power train each with 150 kW of electrical output, will be launched on the market and will cover a power range of between approximately 1,000 and 2,200 kilowatts per power train.

As of 2021, MTU will then extend its portfolio with the addition of hybrid systems based on the power delivered by MTU Series 4000 engines and as many as four electric motors, each with 150 kW of electrical output, and will cover a power range of between approximately 1,000 and 4,000 kilowatts per powertrain.

MTU has already equipped a number of ships with customer-specific hybrid propulsion systems. The new MTU hybrid propulsion systems for ships are part of the Green and High-Tech initiative, which Rolls-Royce Power Systems launched in 2015. With this program, the company is making targeted investments in environmentally friendly solutions for the future designed to reduce pollutant emissions and the consumption of both energy and raw materials.