Growth of freight transportation is driving increased marine traffic while emission reduction requirements are tightening.
Today most ships use polluting bunker fuel generating hazardous emissions in ports and along sensitive coast lines. As ports and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are looking at reducing emissions, new technologies are required for ship propulsion and powering hotel loads. Very few solutions can deliver zero emission power while meeting the required range and operation cycle of most ships.
Fuel cell technology provides the following advantage for ships:
- Zero emission
- Environmentally-sustainable solution featuring long life, rebuildable technology
- Range: High energy density of hydrogen compared to battery; liquid storage for large volumes and long storage capacity
- Utilization: Quick refilling compared to long battery charging time
- Power: Scalable, Dispatchable, Distributed Power for auxiliary or propulsion loads
Suitable marine applications for fuel cell systems include:
- Ferries, coastal vessels, barges and cruise ships
- Hotel and Auxiliary Loads (power, heat, water)
- Cold ironing / shore power
- Propulsion power: cruising and in Ports and Emission Control Areas (ECAs)
Products for Marine applications
- Ballard provides modular power solutions from 100kW to multi-MW power systems for marine applications based on our latest distributed fuel cell power plant
- Marine environment compliant with hydrogen safe stack compartment
- Integrated power management systems & controls
- Scalable and flexible integration of the one-deck-high system into the ship architecture and grid