Offshore staff
HOUSTON — Bosch Rexroth and PetrolValves have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on electrification of subsea process valves such as Subsea Safety Integrity Valves.
The two parties are already working on a method of connecting PetrolValves’ submersible valves with the Rexroth actuator eSEA Drive, using a 24V low-voltage (DC) supply.
Electrification, they claim, can play a major role in reducing the costs of capturing and storing CO2 and the use of green hydrogen.
Bosch Rexroth’s eSEA actuators are said to cover all safety-relevant movements in water depths of up to 4,000 m, providing a potentially more economical alternative to hydraulically driven actuators.
Previously, the company said, electrification of large subsea process valves with high safety integrity level requirements was not feasible due to the absence of suitable and affordable drive solutions.
The new cooperation targets development and qualification of new valve variants such as 10- or 12-inch submersible valves and commercialization of these options compatible with innovative, all-electric technologies.
Currently, a full-scale prototype of an eSEA drive from Bosch Rexroth for the electrification of a 5-inch subsea valve is in the final phase of qualification testing to reach technology readiness level (TRL) 4 by mid-2024.
Dr. Alexandre Orth, the company’s head of underwater automation systems, said, "Our solution eliminates the need for the entire hydraulic system for valve actuation, central hydraulic power units above water as well as the kilometer-long hydraulic lines.
"This simplifies the design and accelerates the engineering and commissioning of offshore turbines [and] improves the response time of the control system and the level of safety."
Yesterday the two companies presented the development at OTC’s NRG Center as part of the "All-Electric Subsea and Wells" program.
05.07.2024
