The Hermes Award 2021 has been awarded to Bosch Rexroth for the world's first electrical actuator for controlling process valves under water. The award ceremony took place on April 12 at the Hannover Messe Digital Edition.
(Source: Bosch Rexroth)
The jury, chaired by Professor Reimund Neugebauer, president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, selected the product SVA R2 (Subsea Valve Actuator). According to Hannover Messe, the SVA R2 offers an energy-efficient and safe alternative to the actuators previously used in offshore oil and gas production. SVA are self-sufficient assemblies with their own fluid circuit and a variable-speed pump drive. The central unit and the kilometers of lines for the fluid are no longer required. This also greatly minimizes environmental risks. The SVA only require a power supply and a data line. A displacement control regulates the flow rate from the speed with almost no loss. This simplifies the construction and increases the energy efficiency significantly.
"The winning product is another milestone and stands for high-tech in connection with environmental protection," said Dr. Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe AG. "The company is thus making a major contribution to sustainability, one of the key topics at the Hannover Messe Digital Edition."
"With the SVA R2, the developers at Bosch Rexroth combine economic and ecological aspects into a sustainably innovative product for the maritime process industry: With the Subsea Valve Actuator, existing electrical supply lines for sensors are sufficient for reliable operation of the actuators," said jury chair and Fraunhofer president Professor Neugebauer. "The small dimensions and integrated interfaces provide industry with another advantage, because they enable the new actuator to be used and retrofitted in existing systems."
Thanks to condition monitoring and a safety spring, the SVA R2 satisfies Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 in accordance with IEC 61508 and IEC 61511. The use of internationally standardized interfaces throughout means even more standardization in the subsea process industry. The actuator minimizes energy consumption and is geared toward delicate ecosystems. The functions, operating life and safety of the actuator have been successfully tested in accordance with international standards. When the SVA R2 is used in subsea factories at a depth of up to 4,000 meters, hydraulic pipes or power units are no longer required.
For the agile development of the SVA R2, Bosch Rexroth says its team worked closely with a number of suppliers and operators of offshore installations, as well as international universities. The new module comprises a pressure-compensated container that contains an electric drive, a motion control system and a safety device – and can replace the hydraulic cylinders previously used on a 1:1 basis. It requires only one cable for the power supply and communication. The SVA R2 is designed to actuate valves reliably with the power supply that is commonly used for subsea sensors. Switching to compact and safe electric actuators means that the hydraulic pipes several kilometers in length along with the associated power units and controllers are no longer required.
The Subsea Valve Actuator is designed for high volume production. The electronics for the motion control system are from the automotive division and offer proven robustness and reliability. The SVA R2 is protected by a number of patents and is designed to operate for 25 years. Bosch Rexroth relies on globally accepted interfaces throughout and supports plant engineers, operators and offshore service providers when standardizing equipment. The actuators for rotary adjustment complement the SVA L2 Subsea Valve Actuator for linear movements, which received the “Spotlight On Technology Award” from the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) last year.
At the same show, Hannover Messe awarded the Hermes Startup Award to core sensing for its project coreIN, which is a torque sensor that records and transmits data directly and wirelessly from a rotating component. This functionality enables integration into various machine elements and components as well as constant component monitoring, which prevents failures and reduces maintenance costs.
