SES-Tech - At the forefront of electric ship propulsion systems

SES-Tech is a core supplier of electric ship propulsion systems in China. SES-Tech was founded in 2011 by the China State Shipbuilding Cooperation and a research team originating from Cambridge University. SES-Tech focuses on the integration of power systems and the design of customized frequency converters for the marine business and is now the top 3 company in ship propulsion systems in China.

It is SES-Tech's mission to become one of the most important suppliers of electric propulsion system solutions in China by providing first-class product quality, service, and cost. One of their major achievements is the S-Renewable system where the main power source comes from lithium batteries, featuring zero emission, no pollution and ultra-silent operation. And therefore, regarded as one of the most environmentally friendly solutions for ship propulsion on the market.

Replacing harmful gas emissions with zero pollution

The collaboration between Beijer Electronics and SES-Tech started when SES-Tech was planning the design of the electric propulsion system for The Yangtze Three Gorges 1, an intelligent purely electric-powered cruise ship featuring the world's largest battery power capacity of 7,500 kWh and an electrical propulsion power of 3 x 350kW.

The Yangtze Three Gorges 1 is driven by clean hydropower, replacing about 530 tons of fuel oil and reducing harmful gas emissions by more than 1,600 tons per year. A green ship that truly achieves zero pollution and zero emissions.

SES-Tech was looking for a partner who could supply a versatile HMI and communication solution able to alleviate previous pain points of insufficient development tools and interfacing with third-party controllers.

Fit for purpose and future

SES-Tech’s choice landed upon a solution based on Beijer Electronics’ X2 pro 10 HMI panel and iX software due to the powerful performance, the range of marine certifications and the design possibilities of the iX Developer HMI software with its graphical qualities and templates. IX software has greatly reduced the workload of graphic design, and it also supports alarm management and communication with other systems using multiple protocols, including OPC UA and MQTT. The C# scripting facility of iX has given SES-Tech the opportunity to add advanced customized functionality.

“Beijer Electronics has brought us significant added value, especially with the openness of the C# functionality in iX, which enables us to meet the needs of customers. Additionally, it meets the requirements of our actual electric propulsion system's multi-interface protocol in terms of OPC UA and RS-485 communication." says Liu Yang, Electric Manager, SES-Tech.

Key factors in the decision for choosing Beijer Electronics have also been the level of expertise in marine applications and the technical support available.
Liu Yang, Electric Manager, SES-Tech, explains “The technical support from Beijer is excellent. We've been optimizing the HMI application together with Beijer's technical team for more than two years, and they've been great to work with."

What does the future hold?

This year, the world's largest pure electric cruise ship, The Yangtze Three Gorges 1, was officially put into commercial operation. It welcomed its first batch of tourists on a successful maiden voyage. As a result of a rewarding collaboration, SES-Tech will continue to upgrade their electric propulsion system with Beijer Electronics' products incorporated as standard in one of the most environmentally friendly solutions for ship propulsion available on the market.

Learn more about the products in this solution:

• X2 pro HMIs
• Custom branding
•iX software