Dear friends,

I hope you’re well in these challenging times. As you know, the fight against the coronavirus is taking a lot of extra time from all of us. But we at The Switch are working together to get past what we hope to be temporary difficulties. And we’re well positioned to do so. Since we started operations in 2006, we’ve been used to relying on mobile phones, laptops and other online connections to empower our personnel to communicate with one another and our customers, regardless of location.

J-P
President and CEO

BLOGS

PM shaft generators optimize electrical output

To remain competitive, shipowners are always looking to increase efficiency while lowering operating costs. Ship designers can help by optimizing electrical generation.

Carbon taxes can help the sea turn green

Hege Økland, CEO of NCE Maritime CleanTech, urges for more concrete actions to make the green shift forward.

Are you IMO 2020 compliant?

On January 1, the IMO 2020 rule went into effect, reducing the amount of sulfur allowed in marine fuels to 0.5%. With over 170 countries on board, the benefits should add up quickly.

But if you’re not compliant already, what’s the best way to adapt?

NEWS

Large Drive Test Center: Finalizing the floor

Large Drive Test Center is moving ahead. The latest step has been to complete the special heavy-duty floor. With its unique construction, the floor can hold the weight up to 80 tons, and will weigh approximately 1 million kg.

New energy storage solution has huge potential

Peter Stolpe from Vaasa Insider takes a look at an exciting new technology for energy storage.

Milligram accuracy in turbo machine balancing

Yaskawa Environmental Energy has invested in a rotor balancing machine for our factory in Lappeenranta. The new machine helps us meet tougher quality regulations for our customers by finding the perfect balance for their rotor.

“This part of our process was outsourced earlier. Now, the final output is better by having the rotor balanced in-house.”
‒ Henri Paukkunen, Production Engineer, Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch.

Protection with ballast wall

With the increasing number of serial turbo machine orders comes a stronger need to fulfill stricter safety regulations. Yaskawa Environmental Energy has invested in a new ballast wall to raise the level of safety of our employees in the Lappeenranta factory.

“This wall protects against just about anything! There is a layer of sand in between the two sheets of solid, thick steel.”
‒ Henri Paukkunen, Production Engineer, Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch.

Innovative testing center in Norway

Paul Atherton, General Manager at Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch Norway, introduces our innovative testing and verification center for marine.

Driving energy efficiency for newbuild Donsötank tankers

Finland, February 6, 2020 – WE Tech Solutions, a leading energy efficiency solution provider for the maritime industry, has signed an agreement to deliver an integrated solution to two newbuild product and chemical tankers for Swedish shipowner Rederi AB Donsötank. The 22,000 DWT vessels will benefit from a solution built around the WE Drive™ variable frequency drive and Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch’s permanent magnet (PM) shaft generators. The technology delivers lower emissions, significant efficiency gains, and lower operational and maintenance costs for the advanced ice-class 1A tankers.

“By capturing mechanical energy from the propeller shaft and converting it to green electrical energy for the vessel, OPEX is reduced, emissions are cut, and a new level of energy efficiency can be realized.”
‒ Juha Reinilä, Key Account Manager, Marine, Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch.

The Switch EBL shortlisted for Environmental Award

The Annual Offshore Support Journal has shortlisted The Switch EBL for its Environmental Award 2020. The Switch Electronic Bus Link (EBL) was selected as one of the finalists after being successfully used on the North Sea Giant construction vessel battery hybrid upgrade project.

Taking precautions

Due to the situation with the coronavirus, we will be having as many employees as possible working remotely. However, we do not foresee any major bottlenecks in our delivery capability.