Propulsion system for an all electric passenger boat employing permanent magnet synchronous motors and modern power electronics

Abstract

This works presents a motor drive application for small passenger all electric vessels. The aim is the construction of a zero emission electric propulsion boat to be used for public transportation and water sports events. The boat is a wave-piercing Catamaran powered by lithium-ion batteries that are charged at the harbor and, partially, with photovoltaic panels for an increased range. A dc-dc converter is used to provide a steady dc-bus feeding multi-state switching cells based voltage source inverter that drive two 12 kW permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM).