42 n TRANSPORT July/August 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com Tests prove efficiency of electric ‘whale tail’ propulsion system Two years ago, ABB announced a novel form of electrically-powered marine propulsion, inspired by the movement of a whale’s tail, that it claimed would break new ground for energy efficiency. The system – called Dynafin – was the result of more than a decade of research, development, and testing. A main electric motor rotates a large horizontal wheel from which are suspended several vertical blades – each controlled by a smaller motor to mimic the motion of a whale’s tail. Combined, these motions simultaneously propel and steer the ship, enhancing thrust and positioning precision. Now, a leading Dutch maritime research institute called Marin (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands) has provided independent validation of the Dynafin’s performance. It has performed full-scale tests that demonstrate substantial fuel savings and significantly lower emissions compared to conventional marine propulsion systems. The open-water tests were performed on a 3MW Dynafin system and showed, for example, that at 18 knots, the system can achieve an efficiency of up to 81%. “We measure hydrodynamic forces and moments, and determine hydrodynamic efficiency,” explains Jie Dang, a senior project manager and principle investigator at Marin. “All mechanical and electric losses have been subtracted from the test set-up.” “We placed a shaft torque and an RPM transducer, as well as a six-component force frame, which was calibrated here at Marin, to measure the overall unit forces and moments,” adds René Bosman, a specialist in mechanical measurement at the institute. “We calibrated also the fin servos with the six-component shaft transducer of our torque motor.” Marin’s findings back up those from an earlier independent study by the Danish marine technology specialist OSK-ShipTech, which found that a passenger vessel propelled by the Dynafin system would save 22% in propulsion energy consumption compared to a conventional shaftline. Full-scale trials have shown that a novel electrical propulsion and steering system for ships delivers higher efficiencies than traditional systems, thus cutting the use of fuel as well as emissions. One proposal suggests using the system to propel an “e-bunker” ship with a large onboard battery that would be used to provide power to other vessels at sea. ABB’s Dynafin marine propulsion and steering technology promises improved efficiencies and reduced emissions
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