AP Moller-Maersk’s Maersk Supply Service is ready to demonstrate what it claims to be the first full-scale offshore wind farm ship-charging station in the world.

New fully-owned venture Stillstrom will launch a test site off Norway later this year, in cooperation with Danish green-energy company Orsted.

The idea is to help decarbonise shipping by eliminating emissions from idling vessels using clean electricity.

Stillstrom, meaning quiet power in Danish, aims to offer the service in ports and for offshore energy operations.

Offshore charging is critical for decarbonisation, which Maersk Supply Service — an anchor-handling tug supply vessel specialist — believes will allow owners to replace fossil fuels with a ship safely moored to a charging buoy.

The trial is scheduled for the third quarter of the year and will involve overnight charging of one of Orsted’s service operation vessels (SOVs).

The Danish power group aims to hit a target of climate-neutral operations by 2025.

Orsted is handling the grid integration of the charging buoy.

The group will also make public its design data for this process, in order to maximise potential uptake globally.

The buoy itself is large enough to charge an SOV-sized battery or a hybrid-electric vessel.

Potential for scaling up

The same solution will be scaled and adapted to supply power to larger vessels, meaning engines can be turned off when idle.

“Virtually all emissions and noise pollution are eliminated while the buoy is in use,” Maersk Supply Service said.

Steen Karstensen, chief executive of Maersk Supply Service, said: “Stillstrom is part of our commitment to solving the energy challenges of tomorrow.

“By investing in this ocean clean-tech space at an early stage, we can help lead the green transition of the maritime industry.”

Sebastian Klasterer Toft, venture programme manager at Maersk Supply Service, said the company’s mission is to remove 5.5m tonnes of CO2 within five years of commercial rollout, as well as eliminate particulate matter, NOx, and SOx.

Stillstrom has received funding support from the Danish Maritime Fund and Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program.