Electrification is steadily reshaping ship power systems across the maritime industry. From battery-powered ferries and hybrid offshore vessels to large container ships using shaft generators and power take-off systems, electrical machines are becoming a central part of modern vessel design. However, the engineering challenges behind electrification can vary significantly depending on vessel size and operating…
Europe often takes the spotlight for advancements in maritime industry electrification. Countries like Norway and Finland are already operating over a hundred electric vessels, driving the global shift toward sustainable shipping. Japan, on the other hand, has been comparatively quiet – with just around 10 electric vessels currently in operation. But behind the scenes, Japan…
The Switch, a leading provider of innovative power electronics for the marine industry, has won a contract to deliver the single drives for shaft generators that will be installed on four tankers under construction at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry in Fujian Province. The Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI)-designed, 113,600-dwt LNG dual-fuel Aframax vessels are…
We have experienced excellent growth in the marine electrification business with our game-changing products. New orders include several projects that leverage our permanent magnet (PM) machine and power electronics products, showcasing their versatility and efficiency in various marine electrification applications. The Switch has now logged more than 50 contracts for our innovative power electronics products,…
The Switch, one of the world’s leading providers of innovative power electronics for the marine industry, has secured 50+ new contracts for its latest-generation The Switch DC-Hub, underscoring its growing popularity as a preferred power distribution solution for future-proof, flexible and low-emission vessels. All but one of the orders involve battery solutions, ranging from plug-in…
Superior efficiency, reliability and compactness are the core competitive advantages of permanent magnet (PM) machines. With our market-leading position and experience in delivering PM shaft generators, we believe these machines have a big role to play in the electrification of the deep-sea fleet. As shipowners look to lower emissions in line with IMO targets, PM…
IMO CO2 reduction targets are driving the marine industry toward a greener future. Green e-fuels are at the center of discussion, with the major challenges being the huge amount of energy needed for e-fuel production and the world’s constantly increasing energy consumption. The marine industry is already working to reduce emissions by making vessel operations…
How can we build and retrofit ships to meet the coming emissions regulations and possible future requirements? This is the urgent question facing the marine industry today. As we move to greener fuel solutions, some challenges include the impact of fuel changes on how an engine runs, the availability of truly green options and the…
Another calendar year is almost complete, and it is soon time for a well-deserved holiday break. The past year has been very exciting for The Switch. We have received a lot of new shaft generator orders from several system integrator customers, including a number of new customers. These orders have made us clearly a leading…
Looking at my email history, I see that the term “shaft generator” first appeared in my email conversations in May 2013. So, it has been exactly ten years to date from when we first started to think how we could utilize our permanent magnet technology originally developed for the wind industry in marine applications –…
During September 2022, we had the pleasure of welcoming six new members to our team of leading minds. Read their bios and professional journeys within below. Structural Analysis Specialist Trainee Seyedmajid (Majid) Mirzahosseini has joined our Engineering Analyses team as Structural Analysis Specialist Trainee on September 14, 2022. He will be working part-time alongside his…
All over the world, politicians see the opportunity for job growth in the renewable energy business. For example here in the US, the economy and job creation is one of the key themes in the ongoing primaries and the upcoming presidential election.
The wind and solar power industries offer opportunities to create more good-paying jobs for the local manufacturing industry, particularly as in the past these type of jobs have largely moved to low-cost countries with inexpensive labor, such as China, India, Vietnam and others. In many cases, the job creation opportunity is of higher political interest than concerns about global warming or even the western world’s heavy dependence on imported oil.
