The International Maritime Organization are introducing more and more stringent requirements concerning increasing ships’ energy efficiency. They are becoming a huge challenge for design engineers. This article proposes a method to increase the energy efficiency of mechatronic drive systems in ship systems via the use of highly efficient electric permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). An innovative control strategy is suggested. It is based on the modification of the classic PMSM control and ensuring energy optimization through a reduction in reactive power in the Active Converter–PMSM system. Analytical and simulation studies using the Matlab–Simulink program are presented. They confirm the possibility of reducing reactive power in a PMSM drive system. A verification of the results of analytical and simulation examinations was conducted at a laboratory station with the use of the Speedgoat module operating in the Rapid Control Prototyping mode. Both the simulation and experimental research results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed PMSM control method. This method has good prospects for application in energy-saving marine drive systems.

In marine systems, autonomous power generation unit sets play an important (main) function, and the Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) is a part of the excitation system of a synchronous generator that is difficult to test, repair, and adjust by the Electro Technical Officer (ETO) and marine automation services. Typically, testing of the AVR on ships is carried out on installed AVRs in an operating generator, which creates significant challenges. Under operating conditions, achieving various generator operating states is practically impossible. In this article, the authors present a solution that replaces traditional AVR testing by using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) technology, allowing for full diagnostics. Testing the AVR in a loop allowed verification of its performance without a real generator, which is simulated in real time. The possibility of diagnosing the AVR under different standalone generator conditions (dynamic load changes and load character changes) was presented. Test scenarios were carried out in real time on a sample AVR from LXCOS V1.4.5.2 and the HiL simulator from Speedgoat. The solution proposed by the authors in the article enables effective diagnostics of the AVR with high practicality and low costs.