UK Marine Electronics and Victron Energy team up as Official Suppliers

As part of their role as Official Suppliers, UK Marine Electronics and Victron Energy will not only develop, design, and install the power and battery system on board Puffin, but remotely monitor every aspect of the electrical system during the qualifying period including the transatlantic TWOSTAR Race next year.

This will enable both suppliers to fine tune and make any changes to the system prior to The 2022 Golden Globe Race.

UK Marine Electronics’ Chris Dobson, below explains some of the finer details and options for on board Puffin.

“Key to the design of the electrical system on Puffin is the choice of battery technology. When we looked at the details of the race it became clear that the choice of battery technology needed some thought.

The race will take Ian thorough some remarkably diverse conditions from the heat of the tropics to the terrifying storms and cold temperatures of the Southern Ocean. Looking at the electrical system on Puffin when she arrived in Pwllheli the batteries were destroyed.

So, what are our choices?

Lithium: This is not a choice; race rules forbid the use of Lithium Batteries. For this application we would not have chosen Lithium as an option. The main reason is that you cannot charge Lithium Batteries below 5 Centigrade. Under normal circumstances we can use excess power from the generation source to heat the batteries. However, we are looking at diverting excess power to heat the skipper.

Lead Acid: In the lead acid group we have wet cells, sealed, Gel and AGM. Wet cells are out for boats. The idea of Sulphuric Acid sloshing around in extreme conditions is a scary thought.  Sealed batteries are not an attractive idea either.  We still have acid sloshing around you just cannot get to it easily.  With Gel and AGM batteries the acid is held either in the form of a GEL or absorbed into a glass fibre mat. Without going into finer details all these technologies require that the batteries be charged to 100% on a regular basis. Failure to charge to 100% will reduce the capacity of the batteries. Discharging to low levels can cause permanent damage. To charge to 100% an absorption period of up to 8 hours would be needed. This cannot be guaranteed, and there is not the option to stop off for a quick battery change.

Lead Carbon:  We have used this technology in a variety of applications where Lithium cannot be used. These applications are in demanding environments or where the cost of Lithium is beyond the budget. The main benefit of Lead Carbon batteries is that they can be partially charged without loss of storage capacity. You can use up to 80% of the capacity without damage unlike GEL and AGM where a discharge of more than 50% is not recommended to prolong battery life. They are robust, essential on this journey. They can even be completely discharged without serious damage (although we would not recommend this on a regular basis). The downside is that they are heavy, as it turns out, on Puffin this is an advantage as ballast is needed at the stern of the boat.

Safety:  Let’s face it if you are going to store energy there are going to be hazards. Petrol and gas are simply explosive, diesel is a lot safer, but like petrol and gas, requires a complex engine to convert the stored energy into electricity, not ideal in a hostile environment. Lithium batteries are perceived (somewhat harshly) as being hazardous. Lead acid wet cells are clearly dodgy, with a bucket full of sulphuric acid sloshing around. Gel and AGM are seen as being a lot safer as the electrolyte is held either absorbed into a glass matt or as a gel. Lead carbon can be considered as even safer, as they also hold their electrolyte in the same way as an AGM or GEL battery, but while the GEL and AGM batteries start to suffer and dramatically lose capacity due to partial charge and discharge (as would be the case on a long voyage without the benefit of shore side recharging) the Lead carbon will not suffer the same fate and allow usage down to a much lower % of charge, just at the time when they may be most needed in an emergency situation.”

Taking all the above information into account, plans have been submitted to the Golden Globe Race Committee for their feedback, verification and approval ahead of any final install on board Puffin for the 2022 GGR.

To learn more about our Team Partners and Official Suppliers, click here.