EC-OG’s intelligent subsea battery storage system to debut in Hawaii

EC-OG has completed the first commercial delivery of its Halo intelligent subsea battery storage system for the first-ever autonomous offshore power trials in Hawaii.

The lithium-ion-based device will be part of the world-first autonomous offshore power sea trial in the first quarter of 2022 at the U.S. Navy Wave Energy Test Site, off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The system will be integrated into the sea trial in which Columbia Power Technologies (C-Power) will demonstrate its Autonomous Offshore Power System (AOPS) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as Saab, BioSonics and Franatech.

On arrival at the site, Halo will be fully integrated with C-Power’s SeaRAY wave energy converter as part of the AOPS system.

According to EC-OG, Halo will provide the seafloor base unit and the payload interfaces for power, data and communications to multiple subsea payloads, ensuring continuous energy availability for remote subsea operations.

“The EC-OG team is excited to export our first Halo unit to Hawaii and be part of this innovative and world-first demonstration project alongside our client C-Power and other project partners,” said Paul Slorach, business development director at EC-OG.

“This is a crucial project for the industry which will demonstrate the integration of a selection of novel subsea technologies to deliver a reliable source of power as well as real-time over-the-horizon data communications. The learnings from this project will be significant for the development of the blue economy and further decarbonisation of offshore operations globally.”

Designed for the harsh subsea environment, the Halo system is a modular and scalable battery storage solution and gateway for renewable energy to high-value assets which provides a reliable, uninterrupted power supply predominantly for seabed use, EC-OG concluded.