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Development and demonstration of zero-emission propulsion technology on board ships using green hydrogen from liquid organic hydrogen carrier in combination with solid oxide fuel cells at MW-scale

Project description

A sustainable future for zero-emission shipping

In line with the EU’s goal to decrease the impact of the shipping industry on the environment, the concept of zero-emission shipping is gaining momentum. In this context, the EU-funded SHIP-AH2OY project is a collaborative effort to develop a green and sustainable technology for power and heat generation onboard ships. It involves the use of high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) for hydrogen storage, resulting in significant improvements in efficiency compared to conventional internal combustion engines. The project aims to demonstrate the efficient operation of the SOFC/LOHC powertrain on an existing vessel, with plans for scalability to larger ships and power plants.

Objective

SHIP-AH2OY project will develop a scalable, green and sustainable technology for power and heat generation on board ships. The concept is based on the combined use of hydrogen Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) with efficient heat integration, resulting in electrical efficiency of 60% and total efficiency of 85%, a significant improvement from conventional internal combustion engines. The developed SOFC/LOHC powertrain will be demonstrated on board a vessel Edda Brint owned by Ostensjo.

The SHIP-AH2OY project aims to achieve the following high-level targets:
1. Introduce high-temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) for marine use.
2. Use of LOHC as the hydrogen storage technology to allow use of existing infrastructure (transport, bunkering, etc)
3. Integration of the hydrogen power unit on board an existing and available ship and the demonstration of the efficient operation of the power plant using green hydrogen.
4. Scalable system architecture for larger ships and power plants by integrating several 1 MW SOFC/LOHC modules enabling power requirements well in excess of 3 MW.
5. High-level thermal integration allowing SOFC waste heat to be used in the hydrogen release unit.
6. A replication study for the developed SOFC/LOHC system allowing easy replication in e.g. service vessels and ROPAX-vessels.

Basis of the project is the strong commitment of the wide range of industry partners to realize zero-emission shipping. The partners have an already pre-prepared vessel earmarked for the project and plans to retrofit several other vessels with SOFC/LOHC systems after the first successful demonstration of the technology. As the consortium covers the whole value chain from design-offices and class-society to ship builders, owners and operators, efficient dissemination and exploitation of the results will be a natural outcome of the project.

Coordinator

TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY
Net EU contribution
€ 843 273,00
Address
TEKNIIKANTIE 21
02150 Espoo
Finland

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Region
Manner-Suomi Helsinki-Uusimaa Helsinki-Uusimaa
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 843 273,00

Participants (16)