WE Tech Solutions Oy in Vaasa, Finland has been awarded with an order for its WE Drives to control the RENK Advanced Electric Drive (AED) onboard the Pohjanmaa-class Corvettes for The Finnish Defence Forces. The WE Drives will be essential for smooth operation in the different operating modes of the Combined Diesel-Electric and Gas (CODELAG) Propulsion system. The WE Drives are supplied to RENK Augsburg, Germany, who is taking care of the overall integration of the electric propulsion and gearbox system.
“This is our first Navy Project and marks an important milestone for WE Tech Solutions”, says Mr. MÃ¥rten Storbacka, the CEO of WE Tech Solutions Oy. “We are grateful for the trust the Finnish Defence Forces puts in us and equally proud in taking up the challenge. After years of work, we are now ready to take on navy projects with hybrid propulsion solutions.”, Mr. Storbacka continues.
The Pohjanmaa class is a series of four multi-role corvettes currently under development for the Finnish Navy as part of the Squadron 2020 project. Together with the existing four Hamina-class missile boats, the four new surface combatants will form the backbone of the Finnish Navy from the mid-2020s onwards. They will replace seven older vessels that have been or are due to be decommissioned: the minelayer Pohjanmaa, two Hämeenmaa-class minelayers and four Rauma-class missile boats.
The multipurpose corvettes will be built at Rauma Marine Constructions’ shipyard in Rauma, Finland. Construction of the vessels will start in 2022 and the Finnish Navy will take them into operational use in 2028. The Pohjanmaa class will feature a combined diesel-electric and gas (CODLAG) propulsion system with a total output of about 30 megawatts (40,000 hp). During normal patrol operations, the ship’s twin ice-strengthened controllable pitch propellers are driven by electric propulsion motors.
