Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy For Hybrid All-Electric Tugboats To Optimize Fuel Savings

The strengthening of ship emission controls and expected increase of fuel oil prices in the future have driven the interest in fuel efficient solutions for the maritime industry. Hybrid all-electric tugboat has shown its potential in improving fuel economy. However, using conventional rule-based/heuristic power management strategies relies largely on the experience of the designers and crew operators, which cannot guarantee optimality. Motivated by the optimization-based power management strategies for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), this paper investigates the potential benefits of Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) in hybrid all-electric tugboats application. The proposed power management strategy promises 17.6% of fuel savings compared to conventional rule-based strategy.