Beijing Miyun water reservoir

Asia’s largest artificial lake welcomes its first two emission-free vessels

• The two workboats will undertake water quality control testing and engineering operations on Beijing’s Miyun Reservoir.
• Danfoss Editron has provided the electric power equipment that controls the propulsion of both vessels, enabling zero-emission operations. 
• The Miyun Reservoir is Beijing’s main source of clean water for its 21.5 million habitants.

BEIJING, CHINA – Danfoss Editron has provided the electric power equipment for Beijing’s first two electric workboats. The vessels will carry out water quality control testing and engineering operations on the Miyun Reservoir, which is the largest artificial lake in Asia-Pacific and Beijing’s main source of clean water.

The vessels have been commissioned by the Chinese government as part of a directive for inland marine boats to reduce their emissions. The 180 sq m Miyun Reservoir, located eight miles north east of Beijing, provides clean water to the 21.5 million habitants of the city. It is therefore crucial to equip the boats which operate there with electric propulsion systems to reduce both carbon emissions and pollution.  

Developed by CSSC Guijiang Shipyard and the CSIC Shanghai Marine Diesel Research Institute (CSIC 711 Institute), both vessels are equipped with an EDITRON marine system. This is half the size of conventional diesel-electric propulsion and power plant systems, making it the most compact on the market today.

The fully-electric, 68ft engineering workboat will be used to carry out rescue operations, forest fire prevention and cleaning missions. It is equipped with an AC power system and driven by two rotary propellers powered by variable speed electric motors, which gives it a 124 mile operational range. Danfoss Editron has provided two propulsion motors which use synchronous reluctance assisted permanent magnet technology, as well as inverters and active front end drives.

Meanwhile, the hybrid water quality monitoring vessel is 78ft long and will undertake daily and emergency water samples and sludge collection testing. The boat will be powered by electric power only, giving it an operational range of 31 miles, though it is also equipped with a diesel generator as backup in case of emergencies. For this vessel, Danfoss Editron provided a more advanced DC power system consisting of two synchronous reluctance assisted permanent magnet propulsion motors and inverters, two sets of bidirectional high-power DC/DC, and two sets of microgrid controllers.

Chao Wang, Danfoss Editron’s Sales Director in China, commented:

“We are really proud to be the company powering the Miyun Reservoir’s first emission-free vessels, especially as the commissioning of the boats was almost entirely realized by our local engineering team. We’re looking forward to seeing similar projects developed in China and hope that these vessels become the point of reference for the electrification of the marine sector in the country.”

Duan Zheng, CSIC Shanghai Marine Diesel Research Institute’s Chief Technical Officer , added:

“We are expecting to see increasing demand for emission-free ships in China in the near future and we are delighted to have found a reliable partner in Danfoss Editron to deliver these with. We chose to work with them due to their advanced technology, their impressive European marine project portfolio, while being able to work directly with their local technical team made the project delivery much easier than expected.”