Wärtsilä generators fitted to section of aircraft carrier

The generators were supplied by power conversion company Converteam

The first set of diesel generators has been fitted to a major section of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

The Wärtsilä generators, which have been supplied by power conversion company Converteam, have been installed on lower block two of the first of the two carriers.

The section is under construction at BAE Systems’ Portsmouth plant and will form part of the hull section.

It will house machinery spaces, stores, switchboards and some accommodation. Lower block two will weigh over 6,000 tonnes and stand over 18 metres high.

Each ship will have two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines and four diesel generator sets giving a total installed power of 109MW.

The diesel generators will generate and distribute electricity at various voltages throughout the vessel, including the electric propulsion system, shaft lines and the propellers.

Steven Carroll, Queen Elizabeth class project director at BAE Systems, said the project was moving forward well. “The diesel generators are the first major component of the power and propulsion system to be installed on the carrier.

“This critical step highlights the huge amount of progress on the aircraft carrier programme, not only here in Portsmouth where work began in February, but also right across the design and engineering teams in the wider Aircraft Carrier Alliance.”