The second of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, recently completed a successful sea trial in Scottish waters.

The ships — the largest ever built for the Royal Navy — are powered by GE’s integrated full-electric propulsion system.

As part of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, GE’s Power Conversion business (www.gepowerconversion.com) has provided the HV (high-voltage) distribution system, HV drives and propulsion motors, as well as the electrical power control and management system.

GE also supplied the HV generators that power the entire carrier. Out of the 110MW of power running through the system, 80MW can be dedicated to GE’s electric propulsion motors.

This is the amount required to move the 65,000-tonne carriers, and it is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power a small town.

For almost three decades, GE has supported the Royal Navy, which today has more than 90% of its major ships operating with the company’s electric propulsion solutions.

Furthermore, GE’s Marine Power Test Facility at Whetstone (Leicestershire) is the world’s only commercial land-based facility capable of full-scale testing of integrated electric propulsion systems for naval applications.

Over the past decades, it has helped the world’s navies to ‘de-risk the technology of current and future electric ship architectures’.

Andy Cooper, managing director of GE’s Power Conversion business in the UK, said: “Our contribution to the Royal Navy has been extensive, supporting so many diverse naval ship classes.

"As the programme for the second carrier — HMS Prince of Wales — nears completion, another important milestone has been achieved through the successful sea trial.”