Next-Generation Shipboard DC Power System: Introduction Smart Grid and dc Microgrid Technologies into Maritime Electrical Netowrks

In this article, we examined dc microgrid-based maritime onboard power systems and outlined the need for and potential benefit of employing both smart grid technologies and the MVdc IPS for the future AES to enhance the controllability and efficiency of shipboard power systems. We introduced a series of technical outcomes from research on terrestrial dc microgrids, such as dc power architecture, the application of ESSs, hierarchical control, and different coordination methods. We also presented objective-oriented coordinated management methods and protective functions for future MVdc IPSs, which are to meet the specific need of maritime applications using methodologies from dc microgrids. In the last decade, there were several prototypes of ships on the low-voltage dc level, while, for the MVdc IPS, there are still technological challenges and de-risking studies to be performed. However, it is foreseeable that the advanced technologies from terrestrial dc microgrids are potentially applicable in the MVdc IPS of the future AES. Thus, such a combination will contribute to the implementation of high-performance MVdc IPSs for both commercial and mission-oriented vessels in the near future.