Researchers in Singapore have concluded it is feasible to use an SOFC fuel cell with an integrated ammonia cracker to power large, deepsea container ships in the future.

A research team at Nanyang Technological University has evaluated various propulsion options for a deepsea container ship, including one based on an SOFC fuel cell with integrated ammonia cracker, and concluded the SOFC-based system has a comparable cumulative cost to that of LNG-fuelled or HFO-fuelled combustion engines when projected over a period of 20 years.

PhD student Shengwei Wu, who is affiliated to Maritime Energy and Sustainable Development – Centre of Excellence, conducted the study under the supervision of Dr SH Chan, Professor in the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and Dr Bin Miao, research fellow at Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERIAN). The vessel chosen was a 2018-built 20,000TEU container ship with a conventional 2-stroke engine generating 56,000kW output power and trading between ports in Europe and the Far East Area.