HMS Queen Elizabeth I 103
POWER AND PROPULSION Power and Propulsion Sub-Alliance The overall responsibility for delivery of the entire power and propulsion system is held by the Power and Propulsion Sub-Alliance that comprises Thales UK (acting on behalf of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance), RollsRoyce, GE Power Conversion and L3. Together, the sub-alliance is responsible for the design, procurement, manufacture, integration, test and delivery of the Integrated Electric Propulsion Systems. HMS Queen Elizabeth will be powered by two RollsRoyce Marine 36 megawatts (MW) MT30 gas turbine alternators providing more than 70MW, and four Wärtsilä diesel engines providing approximately 40MW, with the total installed power approaching 110MW.
Gas Turbine The gas turbines and diesels are the largest supplied to the Royal Navy. Their combined power feeds the low-voltage system and supplies two tandem electric propulsion motors that drive a conventional twin shaft arrangement, fitted with fixed-pitch propellers. Integrated as part of a gas turbine alternator (GTA), the power generated by the MT30s will meet the carriers’ energy demands for propulsion motors, weapons and navigation systems, as well as the entire low-voltage requirements for lighting and power sockets. Weighing a total of 120 tonnes, the GTA includes an alternator and gas turbine enclosure. The two 36MW generators, manufactured in Rugby, will supply four 20MW GE Power Conversion Advanced Induction Motors.
Carrier Alliance photo
Diesel Generators The selected prime movers of the generating sets are two 12-cylinder (12,000 horsepower [hp]) and two 16-cylinder (15,000hp) Wärtsilä 38 engines, which will supply nearly 40MW of the total installed power of 109MW, the rest coming from the two gas turbine alternators. The Wärtsilä generators, which have been supplied by power conversion company GE Power Conversion, were installed on Lower Block 02 while the section of hull was under construction in the shipbuild hall at Portsmouth. The diesel generators will generate and distribute electricity at various voltages throughout the vessel, including the electric propulsion system, shaft lines and the propellers.