World’s first hybrid icebreaker for cruising powered by ABB
The Ponant Icebreaker will be the world’s first hybrid icebreaker, and will feature two Azipod VI propulsion units by ABB. The cool cruise ship will ferry passengers to the poles and got a combined power of 34 MW.
To cross some of the worlds unfriendliest waters, the luxury liner for polar expeditions will be fitted with 6 metre propellers made by ABB and will take up operation in 2021. While the Azimov system has been developed some 30 years ago, the technology has advanced today and now powers a hybrid version of the ships.
“At the beginning of the 1990s, we entered the cruise market with a technology offering a 10-15% efficiency gain over conventional shaftline systems and a gearless construction that reduces environmental impact,” says Marcus Högblom, Head of the Passenger, Ice & Dry Cargo segment, ABB Marine & Ports.
Now they estimate that a propulsion system saves approximately 700,000 tons of fuel using the technology and combining it with a hybrid system. Options for Azipod propulsion span 1.5MW to 22MW, and the technology has enabled ABB Marine & Ports’ to work on environmentally-friendly electric propulsion.
The icebreaker ordered by French operator Ponant will take passengers to the Arctic and Antarctic waters starting by 2021. The vessel will be build by Norway’s Vard Søviknes. For ABB, the contract with Ponant’s marks its 100th cruise ship order.
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