San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy (2nd November 2021) – Torqeedo and Italdraghe today announced the joint development of an outboard, retractable electric propulsion system for commercial and working vessels in inland and urban waterways.
The system combines Italdraghe’s proven and extensively field-tested steerable azimuth thrusters and Torqeedo’s Deep Blue high-voltage electric power system. It is designed to provide emissionfree power and directional thrust ideal for manoeuvring on environmentally sensitive waterways. Italdraghe’s azimuth thrusters have been integrated with Torqeedo’s Deep Blue systems in order to develop two types of electrical rudder propeller, one delivering a continuous power of 50 kW and a maximum power of 65 kW and the other delivering a continuous power of 100 kW with a maximum power of 120 kW. The propellers can rotate up to 360° degrees, and the drive units have a 600 mm depth regulation for operation in shallow water and can be tilted up to 60° degrees for maintenance without need for deinstallation from the boat.
Italdraghe’s thrusters have been projected and designed in-house to offer the benefit of a combined propulsion and steering system. Thanks to their trim system, the position of the rudder propeller can be adjusted according to vessel load and water depth while its hydraulic jack means that it can be easily raised out of the water for routine inspection and maintenance. Torqeedo is supplying a 50 kW Deep Blue electric motor/inverter, which integrates with the Italdraghe thruster. The Torqeedo system also includes one or more Deep Blue high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, shore power charger, system management unit for energy and power management and a touch-screen display and throttle.
Engineer Massimo Semprini, Italdraghe’s technical and sales director, said, “Our integrated electric solution is designed to make the investment to convert existing fleets to electricity even more economically and ecologically beneficial. We will collaborate closely with Torqeedo’s application engineers to design and install the ideal system for each application.”
“There are many commercial applications that can be electrified very economically by using this concept. Our focus is to keep the total cost of ownership low by offering a solution on a system level, including design-in, service, maintenance and remote diagnostics. This makes electrification as easy and safe as possible for the shipyard and the fleet operator,” explains Matthias Schubert, director project sales for Torqeedo.
Semprini and Schubert observed that most commercial fleets in European cities are powered by decades-old marine diesel engines. Their CO2 emissions are not in line with the international goals to reduce global warming, and human health is also at risk. Electrification of commercial fleets in inner-city waterways can be accomplished easily and cost effectively, since vessel speeds are limited – resulting in lower battery discharge rates – and they typically operate only 8 to 14 hours per day, leaving plenty of time for overnight charging.
The new electric propulsion package will be on display on Stand 4214 at the 2021 Europort exhibition in Rotterdam 2-5 November.
About Italdraghe
Italdraghe, founded in 1952, designs and constructs dredgers, mining pumps, axial flow pumps, harvesters and marine equipment, as well as a range of bow thrusters and rudder propellers ranging from 20 kW to 500 kW. Over the last 60 years the company has supplied plenty of dredgers for rivers, lakes, dams, canals, ports, mines and quarries. Beside dredgers, Italdraghe provides dredging solutions designed to satisfy specific customers’ needs in order to enable clients to execute complex projects. Italdraghe products fit a wide range of applications such as maritime, metallurgical, mining, coal power and building material industries. https://www.italdraghe.com/
About Torqeedo
Torqeedo is the market leader for electric mobility on the water. Founded in 2005 in Starnberg, the company develops and manufactures electric and hybrid drives from 0.5 to 100 kW for commercial applications and recreational use. Torqeedo products are characterized by an uncompromising high-tech focus, maximum efficiency and complete system integration. Torqeedo is part of DEUTZ Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of innovative drive systems. www.torqeedo.com
Reference Contact:
Francesca Masi Italdraghe +39 335 7019671 f.masi@italdraghe.it sales@italdraghe.it Homepage – https://www.italdraghe.com/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/italdraghe-s-p-a-/ Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1GS3zJxoLs Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/italdraghe_spa
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