The Wartsila HY has been officially launched at the Nor-Shipping conference and exhibition being held in Oslo, Norway this week.

The fully integrated hybrid power module combines engines, an energy storage system, and power electronics optimised to work in unison through a newly developed energy management system (EMS).

Wartsila said there is a notable trend in the marine sector towards hybrid propulsion solutions, which are anticipated to represent a significant percentage of all contracted ships within the coming 10 years.

The new EMS represents the latest generation integrated control system, and has been specifically designed for this application. It creates an outstanding means of interaction with the ship’s onboard systems.

“Wartsila’s unmatched product portfolio and broad range of in-house capabilities and expertise enables us to develop products such as the Wartsila HY, which combines technologies from different fields. This development opens the door to a new era of marine technology that would have been unimaginable until very recently,” said Giulio Tirelli, director, marine engineering, Wartsila Marine Solutions.

The Wartsila HY will provide a wide range of customer benefits through increased operational efficiency and flexibility, resulting in lower fuel consumption, reduced emissions, and improved vessel performance.

It will also have dedicated versions for each category of vessels. While the first versions being made available will be designed for tugs and medium sized ferries. Wartsila also sees big potential in other types of vessels as well. This is the first launch of a new product of this type where each individual version is dedicated to a specific market to secure an optimal fit to the requirements of the specific application.

Maritime classification society, Lloyds Register (LR) has issued an Approval in Principle (AIP) certificate for the Wartsila HY.