New methanol-ready subsea construction vessel to sport Corvus’ energy storage system

Norway-based marine battery and fuel cell systems provider Corvus Energy has been picked to provide energy storage systems (ESS) for a new energy subsea construction vessel (ESCV), which will be built for REM Offshore, a Norwegian shipowner.

Corvus Energy secured a contract with HAF Power Solutions (HPS) to supply its ESS for the ESCV after Rem Offshore hired Myklebust Verft for the construction of the vessel, which is said to be the first of its kind to perform heavy construction work in both offshore wind and subsea arenas with net zero emissions.

While the Norwegian player’s energy storage system is due to be delivered during the first half of 2026, the vessel is scheduled to go into operation in the second half of the same year. Corvus’ contract award also entails an option for equipment deliveries for a second vessel.

Ronny Pål Kvalsvik, Chief Commercial Officer at Rem Offshore, commented: “This project showcases that we are ready to take zero-emission offshore operations one step further. The vessel will not only be methanol ready – it will run on green fuels. The way it is designed, and its innovative technology will provide us with flexibility and efficiency as well as high redundancy.

“We anticipate significant improvements in energy consumption as well as a reduction in operational costs, while also contributing to a greener future for the maritime sector. Increased battery capacity is needed to optimize the system. When using an alternative fuel such as methanol, batteries play an even more important role as the response time for dual-fuel engines is slow.”

With the ST-245 design, the vessel will be equipped with dual-fuel methanol engines and a 1.7 MW battery system. According to Corvus, increased battery capacity will help optimize energy consumption, thus, the batteries will be used not only for spinning reserve and peak shaving but also to regenerate power from the operation of offshore lifting equipment on board the vessel.

“Increased energy storage capacity will allow us to more fully leverage the energy efficiency benefits of battery power, including the ability to regenerate energy from mission equipment onboard. Our selection of the integrator HPS along with Corvus batteries, reflects REM Offshore’s vision to use local suppliers for a more sustainable and efficient maritime industry,” added Kvalsvik.

With all main partners in the project located on the west coast of Norway, it is believed that this proximity facilitated close collaboration throughout the entire project planning phase for the vessel, as both the design company, Skipsteknisk, and the integrator HPS are located in Ålesund, while the vessel will be built at Myklebust Verft in Gursken.

Pål Ove Husøy, VP of Sales at Corvus Energy, remarked: “This project proves the value of collaboration. The innovative vessel will set a new standard for offshore vessels due to its groundbreaking energy system design. Up until now, battery packs have often been sized to a minimum to enable spinning reserve for 10 minutes. Adding more battery capacity unlocks the potential to gain increased value from the battery system.”

Corvus is adamant that additional battery capacity has the potential to boost the value of the batteries by utilizing them in all operational modes, improving the balancing of the entire power management system to curb fuel. As the vessel will run on methanol, greater use of batteries is expected to bring more cost-efficient gains.

Last month, the Norwegian firm tucked a new milestone under its belt with approval from Japan’s classification society ClassNK for Orca ESS, a marine energy storage system.