BESS-Based Hybrid Propulsion: an Application to a Front Line Naval Vessel Preliminary Design

The paper conceives a flexible new generation naval ship Destroyer (DDX, Destroyer, Experimental) with a primary focus on low environmental footprint, high efficiency, and reliability. The ship implements an innovative propulsion power generation and storage system based on a CODOGOL (COmbined Diesel Or Gas Or eLectric) architecture and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The proposed modular solution is also suitable for retrofitting applications and represents an innovation in the state of the art of hybrid propulsion systems for big, front-line naval ships. The shipboard BESS is used as a backup power source to ensure minimum generator operation (MGO) mode reliability requirements. The benefits of the proposed solution are discussed in detail, highlighting a reduction of the operating costs and fuel consumption, as well as low pollutant emissions and Life Cycle Costs. Eventually, dynamical simulation is used to assess the effectiveness of the proposed solution in critical conditions.