Drive Technology KEB Drives on board at the Olympic Games

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When the Olympic Games take place in Paris this July, the boat "Mistinguett" will also be starting. The ship has recently been converted into a fully electric version and will participate in the parade for the opening of the Olympic Games on the Seine. On board: Drive technology from KEB.

Over 90 ships will sail on the Seine during this year's Olympics, providing a novel framework for the entrance of athletes from various national delegations. The Mistinguett ship is usually used as a restaurant ship on the river and will be part of the Olympic parade this summer.

The special feature: While the operator Joce's ship was until recently powered by two internal combustion engines and a diesel generator, the Mistinguett has now been converted into a one hundred percent electric boat. This contributes to increased sustainability, a focus also shared by the city of Paris. Thus, when planning the opening parade, care was taken to use as many electric boats as possible.

Implemented system solution

The electrification was implemented by the company A.M.O Facili - in addition to partners for the delivery of the batteries and hardware integration, KEB was chosen for the implementation of the on-board network. Jean-Paul Rebelo, project manager at KEB France: "We have implemented a system solution on the ship that delivers a three-phase 400 V network with a power of 100 kW. The batteries are used as the only energy source to operate all devices on board, such as the kitchen, air conditioning or heating." In addition, the KEB drive components are used to drive a 50 kW propeller, which as a bow thruster aligns the front part of the boat when maneuvering to the dock.

Experience in ship electrification

In the implementation of the 3 x 400 V / 100 kW on-board network, KEB particularly relied on a combination of drive, sinus filter, and transformer. The sinus filter is designed for output frequencies up to 100 Hz and contributes to the reduction of harmonics on the transformer side. KEB's Combivert F6 drive platform, which is based on high-speed solutions, enables operation at high switching frequencies, which are necessary to ensure a perfect on-board network, in conjunction with KEB's filter solutions. In the version installed on the ship as a liquid-cooled built-in variant of the F6 drive, several advantages result, such as stainless steel piping, increased service life, and coolant management. And even after the commissioning, the employees of KEB France support the customer with local service and a technical team that can provide support at short notice if needed.

Experiences from previous projects

In the electrification of the "Olympia Boat", the KEB team was able to build on the experiences gained from previous projects. In 2018, KEB France carried out a ship electrification of this kind for the first time, and with the project recently implemented, they now have a dozen boats that carry KEB's system solutions on board. "The collaboration with the partners involved in the Mistinguett project by Joce worked smoothly. Now we are looking forward to the opening of the Olympic Games and are excited to be a part of this exciting, sustainable venture as KEB," says Rebelo.