Welcome electric. Welcome marine.

To meet the changing demands from regulators, customers, and operators on how we power the vessels of tomorrow, the marine industry requires a new level of flexibility. At the same time, it's vital that we don't compromise the speed and efficiency of today's solutions. This means looking towards electrification of vessels on the path towards a sustainable future.

Our ambition is to help you achieve your marine electrification goals. Because together we can create a sustainable future powered by electricity. We want to make that transformation seamless and economical, by allowing you to embrace electrification at scale without compromise. That way you can run fully optimized applications that you can always rely on. To achieve this, we also need to integrate renewables and clean energy into tomorrow's smart energy systems powering marine vessels. 

At Danfoss Drives, we provide flexible power converters and drives with high power density to run all hybridized and electrified applications. We are a leading component provider across various marine applications. And with an independent and original approach to systems, we enable you to design the best system possible with low complexity. From hybridization to shaft generators and shore supply, we tailor the solution to your specific needs, so you get a plug-and-play system with maximum performance and reliability.

Many vessel types from small shuttle ferries to huge aircraft carriers benefit from converting to fully electric or hybrid technology for cleaner, more efficient performance. The benefits are clear business drivers:

• Improved vessel performance
• Reduced emissions
• Lower operating costs due to lower fuel consumption
• Lower maintenance costs
• Reduced noise levels
• Improved long-term efficiency of the power supply system

Danfoss provides key components and system design to optimize the functionality of electric vessels, typically short sea or inland waterway vessels. Drives and power converters from Danfoss control the flow of energy between batteries, motors, chargers and power in the cabin. Electric motors ensure that propulsion is silent and efficient, and they are also powered by Danfoss drives. Charging from onshore is controlled by a Danfoss grid converter, and a DC/DC converter manages the batteries. Even the crane hydraulics are run by a drive, so they can be powered by the batteries.

Apart from the high-performance drives, there’s another reason to choose Danfoss: we freely share our knowledge and act as partners.

At our Marine Competence Center in Holmestrand, Norway you can boost your application competence in grid converters, DC/DC converters, generators, commissioning, troubleshooting, and more. In-person or on-demand training is available.

How do we put our design approach to work? We give the customer full design freedom then share our knowledge and work flexibly to engineer a solution to fit their needs exactly. A good example is the Astrid Helene workboat. This is one of the world’s first fully electric workboats, designed and built by Grovfjord Mekanske Verksted, Norway. With no engine noise, no diesel fumes, zero emission, and exceptional maneuverability, it reduces emissions on site at the Northern Lights salmon farm by approximately 90 tonnes CO2 annually — the average emissions of a diesel-powered fish farm workboat. 

Read the full case story or take a scroll through the interactive story.