Siemens uses eight configurable robot cells and seven AGV to automate the production of marine batteries.

As part of visionary environmental legislation, the Norwegian Parliament proposed in 2018 to ban harmful emissions from ferries and cruise ships operating in its fjords by 2026. This includes carbon dioxide and NOx gases, as well as water pollution.

Local shipping companies and ferry operators responded by significantly accelerating the development and introduction of electric propulsion systems. The performance of Norway's first all-electric ferry, at least to say, was impressive when it entered service.

MF Ampere is a fully battery-powered ferry operating between the ports of Lavik and Oppedal, where onshore charging stations charge the batteries. Compared to diesel-powered alternatives, the vessel claims a 95% reduction in emissions and a 80% reduction in operating costs. This is an attractive proposition for ferry fleets worldwide.

Car and passenger ferries, which travel relatively short distances and remain docked at the same port for extended periods, have proven to be ideal candidates for beginning the relentless transition from traditional diesel to battery and hybrid diesel-electric power in the global maritime transport sector.

A key driver of this fundamental shift is providing the right type and quantity of batteries to power new all-electric and hybrid powertrains.

To establish a flexible, highly automated battery factory in Trondheim, Norway, Siemens has invested 1 billion Norwegian kroner (1136 million USD) to help meet future demand. It will develop and manufacture energy storage solutions for marine and offshore oil and gas applications.

To achieve the high level of automation required for its new marine battery production line, Siemens appointed Raufoss-based Intek to provide robots, 3D machine vision, and automation system integration to help meet demanding productivity targets.

Solution

Siemens' marine battery production line in Trondheim is equipped with eight independently configurable robot cells and seven automated guided vehicles (AGV) for inter-cell logistics. The production line was designed by Intek over a period of 12 months to automatically handle everything from initial part picking to final battery testing and documentation.

For the depalletizing cell, Intek chose to use a Zivid One real-time 3D machine vision camera mounted on a KUKA KR9 robotic arm equipped with a custom vacuum gripper. Siemens programmable logic controllers and high-speed industrial PC provide control and processing capabilities. Intek applied its own custom algorithms to manipulate the camera's 3D point cloud data and maximize production line throughput.

"By leveraging the high-quality 3D point clouds from the Zivid One camera, we can easily identify the contours of pallets or trays, accurately determine the external dimensions of the components within, and then place and position them accordingly with the highest accuracy," said Pedersen. "And being able to rely on a single camera snapshot also means it is very fast."

"By adopting this more practical approach, we can address the issue of randomly aligned components without any mechanical 'steering' systems or operator intervention to correct parts and move them to predetermined positions. Moreover, it avoids the need for intensive programming of complex component CAD files. As a result, this is a very flexible and reliable solution."

"Since the robotic arm automatically stacks parts onto relatively small AGV, the system must account for load distribution, which is critical—the AGV must remain perfectly balanced during transport," said Pedersen. "Furthermore, when the AGV arrives at its target production cell, another robot needs to pick up components from predetermined positions. Therefore, accurate placement of parts on the AGV is also important."

Siemens Results

The advanced cellular nature of Siemens' marine battery production line enables it to scale capacity and increase production output in response to surging global market demand and rapid technological developments. Battery design and production are easier to customize to match the specific capabilities and duty cycles of particular vessels.

By leveraging state-of-the-art machine vision, robotics, and AGV, the Trondheim facility has achieved a high level of automation, requiring only three people to work in the production area. This makes it possible to produce sustainable energy solutions more efficiently and economically.

With its efficient end-to-end automated production line, Siemens expects to supply batteries for 150-200 ferries annually, equivalent to a battery module capacity of approximately 400 MWh. The plant can produce the battery modules required for an all-electric ferry in less than four days.

The positive environmental impact of shifting from diesel-powered vessels to all-battery or hybrid vessels cannot be overlooked. The reduction in carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as underwater noise pollution, will be felt both globally and locally. Emission-free, nearly silent marine operations are a goal worth pursuing.

Challenges

For all-electric ferries, battery packs typically require a battery capacity of approximately 2 MWh. A typical configuration consists of 34 battery cabinets. Each cabinet contains 9 battery modules, with each module comprising 28 battery cells. Even in hybrid diesel-electric systems, a battery capacity of at least 500 kWh is required.

Of course, beyond car and passenger ferries, thousands of fishing vessels, cruise ships, multi-purpose vessels, and offshore units can also benefit from full or partial electrification. Therefore, the demand for marine battery packs, along with the production capacity to support them, is expected to be high and grow exponentially.

TorsteinSole-Gärtner, Head of Siemens' Offshore and Marine Center in Trondheim, stated: "All car and passenger ferries in Norway will ultimately rely on some form of energy storage solution, we estimate there will be approximately 60 types of hybrid or all-electric power, battery-powered ferries operating here. "

Siemens expects that by the year 2024, the global marine battery market will double, and predicts that among all new vessels with a length not exceeding 150 meters, nearly 80% will be equipped with full-battery or hybrid diesel-electric power generation.

To keep up with future demand, the new production line system in Trondheim needs to be as efficient and flexible as possible. The number of personnel required for manual operations during production needs to be minimized, while the level of robotics needs to be maximized.

Intek project manager Olaf Pedersen outlined the challenges faced. He said, "Maintaining fast, error-free production throughput is an important consideration in developing the entire solution." "Ensuring high productivity is key, whether the production task involves transporting parts, product assembly, or testing."

Handling battery modules in the depalletizing section of the production line presents a series of special challenges. Pedersen explained, "Unlike other production units, the first unit must be capable of automatically handling various unpredictable components–batteries, frames, connectors, etc."

"Processing many different types of incoming goods, such as those randomly placed on pallets, cardboard trays, and plastic blister packs, at a certain speed, is a daunting task for automation."