On-shore charging station

World’s first robotised charging station for car ferries

Delivery of highly demanding devices or comprehensive packages

Enmac’s efficiency is emphasised in projects in which the share of design and project management is great. Such devices are usually tailor-made to meet the needs of the customer or the project. Another common factor is that such devices or systems do not have an existing supplier in Finland or elsewhere in the world. The systems are usually part of a more extensive customer delivery or enable one.

How the vessel-charging robot was created

The charging robot is an autonomous system that was created to charge the world’s largest car ferries that operate between Sweden and Denmark. When the ferry arrives at the port, the robot automatically connects the charging cables to the vessel.

Our customer provided the entire electrical infrastructure for the port and the DC circuits for the vessels. In order for our customer to be able to provide the entire entity, they also needed to provide an automatic charging system.

Uninterrupted traffic, design requirements, and the safety of persons

The industrial robot and other structures had to be designed to withstand 24/7 use under demanding marine conditions, which made the project mechanically challenging. The structures had to be fitted in the harbour area without disturbing other traffic.

The system was installed close to a Unesco world heritage site, which set strict visual requirements for the design. The charging voltage was 11 kV, so particular attention had to be paid to the safety of persons.

Disturbance-free connection despite tides, winds, and rain

The automation of the device was also challenging, as the robot needed to be able to connect the charging cables to a moving vessel. Tides, wind conditions, snowfall, rain, or other vessel traffic were not to disturb the connection.

The system had to be automatic so that possible exceptional situations were able to be resolved automatically or remotely from the vessel’s bridge. The system was developed in accordance with Enmac’s normal design process.

Simultaneous manufacture of four robots

The strict delivery schedule posed its own challenges. Enmac’s extensive industrial collaboration network, which enables scalable production, was utilised in accordance with the company’s effective operating model.

All of the four over 9-metre-high robots were built at the same time. Certain entities were designed while some were already being manufactured at the machine shop. The importance of project management and leadership was emphasised and required effort.

Project worth the Baltic Sea Clean Maritime Award

The result of all this was the world’s first robotised charging system for the world’s largest car ferries, and what is more, the system was delivered on a tight schedule. The overall system won the Baltic Sea Clean Maritime Award that is given to innovative and environmentally-friendly solutions that benefit the Baltic Sea. After its launch, the system has generated worldwide demand.