Fuel cells onboard – GL confirms feasibility
According to a Germanisher Lloyd study, fuel cells could be used to provide about 160 GW of auxiliary power on board ships.
The market study, carried out by GL and the Hamburg City Administration for Urban Development and Environment says that installed auxiliary power on seagoing vessels has a market potential of some 160 GW worldwide and can, in principle, be substituted by fuel cells in order to reduce emissions to air.
GL experts examined the technical possibilities, the currently available technology, integration concepts and the legal background for the use of fuel cells on board of ships. The target prices for fuel cell systems have been analysed as well as the market size onboard seagoing vessels. For the study about 53% of the world merchant fleet was analysed.
The study shows that five years after the finalisation of the development of the first fuel cell systems for commercial shipping, they can be competitive in comparison with traditional diesel engines from an economic point of view - even if the price for of cell systems is still currently high.
GL considers that the first significant markets for fuel cell applications are cruise ships, ro-pax vessels and megayachts. Once fuel cells reach economic competitiveness, this will open the market to a wide variety of ship types, of which container feeders are a typical example.
"The study concludes that fuel cell systems have a high market potential in shipping in the future", says Dr Gerd-Michael Würsig, GL's expert for fuel cell technology and one of the authors of the study. "Today, still some technical challenges have to be overcome. But current and ongoing projects already demonstrate the suitability of fuel cells systems for power generation on board of ships. Fuel cell will be one technology of the future for environmental friendly power generation on board."
The move towards ‘greener’ vessels is driven by environmental concerns, emissions regulations and high energy prices. One solution is the use of fuel cell systems for power generation on board.
Apart from the high efficiency (more than 50%) of the fuel cell system, the very low or zero emissions (depending on the fuel type) are a big argument for fuel cell systems. The modular design and negligible noise and vibration are further advantages over traditional onboard power generation.
GL has developed its own guidelines for the use of fuel cells in marine applications and has been involved in developing ships, storage and transfer facilities for hydrogen, which many fuel cells use as fuel. The GL guidelines cover the fuel cells and fuel systems themselves, their testing, and additionally standards for materials, ventilation, fire-fighting, explosion protection and general safety issues.
