The paper fits exactly the context of EAAW and goes back to the roots of the Conference.
Electrical Propulsion has been the biggest step change Marine Engineers have introduced to increase warfighting advantage since the introduction of gas turbines. The ability to generate power and distribute it efficiently to all consumers onboard, from propulsion to combat systems, is an important benefit of Integrated Full Electrical Propulsion (IFEP). Such distribution will become even more critical as energy demands for technology like pulse weapons increases, because increased lethality will be proportional to the power available. In parallel, as sustainability challenges increase, efficiency will be one of the few ways to align with increasingly stringent restrictions on peacetime navies.
As previously presented at EAAW, GE Vernova’s Power Conversion & Storage business is working with the Royal Navy to develop a radical electric grid technology, Halo, that will address many of these challenges. This paper will recap on the Halo architecture which takes power system redundancy and resilience to a new level whilst reducing the volume of installation, improving efficiency and helping to reduce emissions. These features will improve the lethality of a warship by releasing internal volume for weapon systems and providing more reliable, flexible and dynamic power to those systems which need it – up to the total installed power if desired. Such amounts of energy could unlock the potential of DC pulse power for an array of energy weapons, some of which may not be thought of yet given the pace of innovation in this area, so helping to future-proof lethality. This paper will go on to provide an update on the testing of GE Vernova’s Halo system at its world class Marine Power Test Facility. It will conclude that, when everything is taken together, Halo will help deliver a transition in the conceptualisation of electrical power for military advantage in naval operations. The time has arrived where energy generation is truly part of the weapon and mission systems.
