A First For ZF Marine’s Hybrid Transmission

ZF Marine has released the company’s first hybrid transmission that can be installed in both V drive and down angle positions.

The ZF 5200 A/V PTI is suited for many types of marine vessels in part because of its wide range of transmission ratios and space-saving design.

ZF Marine said ship designers currently face a wide array of challenges: In the leisure yacht segment, customers want as much living space as possible, while the boom in logistics and tourism requires ferries to make even more space available for cargo. In response to more stringent environmental laws, shipyards are looking for space-saving drive assemblies that also need to operate with the lowest possible emissions.

“We are now setting a new benchmark for these applications as well as others,” said Wolfram Frei, head of Global Sales for the Commercial and Fast Ships product line at ZF. “This addition to ZF’s marine portfolio, in the form of a new variant of the proven ZF 5000 series, is also the Group’s first hybrid transmission that can be installed in the ship in both the V (V drive) and the A (down angle) positions.”

In the past, ZF Marine said such configurations had been difficult to achieve because of packaging challenges of adding the additional input shaft for the PTI. With the ZF 5200 A/V PTI, the Group was able to successfully meet this challenge for the first time. It is thus possible for the additional power take-in to be coupled with an electric motor in both installation variants. At the same time, the marine transmission can transmit primary drive outputs of up to 2462 kW (3500 HP). In combination with the wide transmission-ratio range (main drive: 2.588 to 4.250; power take-in: 2.5888 to 13.813), it helps guarantee high-performance operation with reduced emissions and noise for a wide range of ship types, the company said. These include leisure boats such as charter yachts and fast ships as well as commercial applications in ferry operations, governmental vessels or patrol boats. ZF has also improved maneuverability and crash-stop behavior with the optionally integrated shaft brake.

Another advantage is the transmission’s modular design, the company said. ZF relies on the proven individual components of the ZF 5000 series, which simplifies service and maintenance for the hybrid solution. The engineers at ZF were able to further reduce the size of the aluminum housing. The space-saving design gives shipyards a great deal of latitude when drafting plans for new ships: yachts can have additional cabins as well as more spacious decks, while storage space can be more generously allotted on ferries.