Caterpillar Marine and Pacific6 Enterprises are teaming up to pilot a parallel battery hybrid propulsion system for a first-of-its kind aquaculture farming vessel.
Pacific6 subsidiary, Pacific Mariculture, is developing the first-ever offshore aquaculture farm in the US, located off the coast of southern California. Sustainability is a key focus of the design, both of the farm and the vessels that will work there.
“Aquaculture is at the heart of our efforts to sustainably provide seafood for the future,” said John Molina, founding partner at Pacific6 Enterprises. “Finding novel ways to reduce our carbon footprint is central to those efforts.
“We are thrilled that our work, alongside Caterpillar, will create a vessel with more than 1MWh of stored energy, making this one of the most sustainable aquaculture vessels in the world.”
The next-gen architecture boat will be equipped with a Cat C18 engine and 961 kWh battery for zero emissions operation during farming and port manoeuvres.
Caterpillar Marine will also provide the complete integration of the hybrid propulsion system, including motor/generator unit, inverter and system supervisory controls, effectively reducing the number of installed diesel engines from two to one.
The vessel will be constructed at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, WA. Caterpillar Marine dealer N C Power Systems (Seattle, WA) will sell and oversee installation and commissioning of the new hybrid equipment.
