After the German fuel cell boat Alsterwasser, Amsterdam also presented its first fuel cell passenger ship, the Nemo H2. SWZ Maritime will publish an extensive article on this special vessel in its June issue. Now, Wärtsilä has installed a WFC20 fuel cell unit onboard the Undine. Fuel cells definitely seem to gain popularity.
The FCB Alsterwasser was recently in the news due to a fire onboard during maintenance at the yard. The batteries had overheated, but there was never a risk of explosion, which indicates the safety measures such as separating the H2-installation from the batteries function well.
Nemo H2 in SWZ Maritime
SWZ Maritime features an article on the Amsterdam based Nemo H2 in its June issue. The edition appears on June 25th and SWZonline will publish extra pictures on the 24th. So do not miss out and visit us again next week. Curious about this edition or interested in a subscription? Please visit https://www.swzonline.nl/page/21[our subscriptions page].
First Fuel Cell of Its Kind
Wärtsilä’s WFC20 fuel cell unit has been installed onboard the Undine, a car carrier, owned by Swedish Wallenius Lines and managed by Wallenius Marine. This unique power unit is the first of its kind in the world, and will during the test period provide auxiliary power to the vessel while producing close to zero emissions. This project is an important step towards more environmentally sound shipping and cleaner seaborne transportation.
SOFC Technology
The fuel cell unit, which has a nominal output of 20 kW, is based on planar solid oxide fuel cell technology (SOFC), and fuelled with methanol. Methanol is particularly suited for fuelling the WFC20 since it can be easily reformed to a composition suitable for the unit. Methanol can be produced from natural gas, or from renewable raw materials such as gasificated biomass. Methanol is a commonly used liquid in the oil and process industries, and is available in all major harbours.
METHAPU Consortium
Installation of the WFC20 fuel cell unit onboard the ‘Undine’ is the result of a joint project by the international METHAPU consortium. The participants in the consortium are Wärtsilä, Wallenius Marine, Lloyd’s Register, Det Norske Veritas, and the University of Genoa, each of whom is globally active in the field of fuel cell system integration, sustainable shipping, classification work or environmental assessment. The project has been funded with EUR 1 million from the European Union, and is part of the European Community Framework Programme (FP6).
Reducing Shipping’s Environmental Impact
The principal aim of the METHAPU project has been to validate and demonstrate new technologies for global shipping that can reduce the environmental impact of vessels. In addition, a further major aim is to establish the necessary international regulations for the use of methanol onboard commercial vessels, and to allow the use of methanol as a marine fuel.
Validation Process
The Undine, with the Wärtsilä FC20 unit installed, sailed from the German port of Bremerhaven in May. From there it has headed for the USA, via Sweden and the UK. The validation process carried out at sea will provide excellent feedback and valuable information for the future development of this technology for marine environment applications.
