Posted on December 15, 2022
Snow & Company, Inc. of Seattle, Wash., has recently started construction of the R/V Resilience, a 50-foot plug-in hybrid research vessel being built for the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). To be based at the PNNL-Sequim campus, in Sequim, Wash., it will be the first hybrid vessel in the U.S. Department of Energy fleet.
R/V Resilience is designed by Incat Crowther with propulsion integration provided by Pacific Power. It will be able to operate quietly on electric power at lower speeds, and cruise at 20 knots using diesel power. It will have laboratory space with multiple science stations, a large deck, an A-frame and knuckle crane to help move research equipment.
The vessel will be powered by an advanced parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system, consisting of twin Volvo Penta D8-510 engines, capable of producing 374 kW each, supplemented by twoDanfoss Editron 20 kW motor-generators. Power is stored using a Spear Trident battery system. This combination allows the vessel to operate in a zero-emission “quiet” state, which is more effective for marine research and will also reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.
PNNL-Sequim houses the only marine research facilities in the DOE complex. The hybrid research vessel Resilience will be a multi-use platform for deploying research equipment, ROVs and diving operations in support of various research projects, and will enable future research and testing to support renewable power from the ocean.
Delivery from Snow & Company is scheduled for summer 2023.
Additional vessel particulars:
- Length: 50 feet
- Beam: 16 feet
- Draft: 3.5 feet
- Displacement: 55,000 lb
- Fuel: 600 gallons
- Fresh water: 80 gallons
- Person: 2 crew, 6 scientists
- Speed: Diesel – max 28 knots
- Electric – max 6 knots
- Electric “quiet” propulsion mode 1-6 knots for 4 hours
- All-aluminum construction
- 5,000 lb capacity A-Frame
- 1,000 lb capacity crane
- 500 lb davit
- Dive operations platform
- Onboard scuba bottle air compressor
- Garmin electronics suite
- Flir camera
