The increasing presence of electric vehicles onshore has also sparked a growing interest in offshore electrification. Simultaneously, the past decade has seen a significant increase in offshore renewable energy sources, a trend projected to accelerate in the future. Based on this growth and improving battery technology, the market potential of offshore charging solutions is highlighted. To address this emerging opportunity, this report presents a technical feasibility study of the novel KONGSBERG floating offshore charging station (OCS). The primary focus of the system is the offshore wind sector, particularly the support of operations for crew transfer vessels (CTVs) and service operation vessels (SOVs). As the majority of offshore wind farms are currently located in shallow water, this is where the largest market potential is expected. However, shallow water presents greater design challenges, as wave non-linearity increases and wave height becomes more significant relative to the water depth.

In this report, it is studied how the water depth affects the technical feasibility of the KONGSBERG OCS in shallow water. To do so, the KONGSBERG OCS is modeled in OrcaFlex for water depths ranging from 60 to 30 meters, analyzing key system components such as the buoy, the mooring system and the dynamic power cable (DPC). A surface-based charging concept was found to be unfeasible due to excessive pitch motion, leading to a focus on submerged designs. The analysis shows that the OCS is technically feasible at 40 m and 60 m depths, fulfilling both ultimate and fatigue limit state requirements. At 30 m depth, the system remains technically possible, but it exhibits several limitations, including a significantly reduced cable fatigue life of about 7.5 years, occasional buoy emergence above the sea surface, and increased interference with the seabed and mooring lines. The dominant driver of fatigue was identified as cable motion and the most critical load cases were those with aligned wave and current directions. Polyester was confirmed to be the most suitable mooring material, maintaining acceptable cable curvature in all feasible configurations.

To further improve the system and expand its applicability, several areas of future research are proposed. These include: evaluating the system’s behavior during charging mode with vessel interaction; developing a plug retrieval mechanism for emergency release scenarios; conducting fatigue enhancement studies for operation in shallower depths; incorporating rotational flow and vortex shedding effects using CFD to improve added mass and damping accuracy; and performing an economic assessment comparing the submerged system to a monopile-mounted alternative in very shallow waters. These directions aim to refine the design and expand its deployment potential within the growing offshore wind and electrification landscape.