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

Project Information

SHIP-AH2OY

Grant agreement ID: 101056723

DOI

10.3030/101056723

EC signature date 14 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 14 999 513,26

EU contribution

€ 14 999 509,00

Coordinated by

TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SHIP-AH2OY (Development and demonstration of zero-emission propulsion technology on board ships using green hydrogen from liquid organic hydrogen carrier in combination with fuel cells at MW-scale)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

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 fuel cells (FC) and liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC)
with efficient heat integration.

The SHIP-AH2OY project aims to achieve the following high-level targets:
1. Use of LOHC as the hydrogen storage technology to allow use of existing infrastructure (transport, bunkering, etc)
2. 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.
3. Scalable system architecture for larger ships and power plants by integrating several 1 MW FC/LOHC modules
enabling power requirements well in excess of 3 MW.
4. A replication study for the developed FC/LOHC system allowing easy replication in e.g. service vessels and ROPAXvessels.

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 FC/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.

The objective of the project is to deliver the technology required so the maritime sector can achieve
the zero-emission power-train target set for the forthcoming decades enabling the complete de-carbonization of
the sector. The technology demonstrated in this project will allow liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) to
provide hydrogen on-demand to be easily handled and widely used in the marine sector, maximizing operational
versatility. The wide-spread implementation of the SHIP-AH2OY technology will enable retrofitted as well as
new ships to be built in the future to operate with heavily reduced or zero greenhouse gas emissions depending
on the exact type of fuel used during the transition period from conventional to clean fuels.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Technical Activities and Main Achievements:

Hydrogen Quality and Compatibility: Experiments were conducted to investigate the requirement for an intermediate purification system for LOHC-based hydrogen. Impurities in hydrogen released from LOHC were analyzed, and effective adsorbents were identified. A concept for integrating an adsorption system for hydrogen purification in the LOHC dehydrogenation process was developed and tested.

Optimization & Operational Strategies: The Energy Management System (EMS) was developed to optimize power production with SOFC, level out power variations using Energy Storage Modules, and predict load changes. The EMS ensures steady load on generators and fuel cells, contributing to efficient power management.

Integrated System Design: Integrated system models for LOHC dehydrogenation and fuel cell power plant were developed, assessing waste heat flows and their potential for exploitation. This led to higher cogeneration efficiency and improved system integration.

Waste Heat Recovery: Waste heat recovery options, including absorption cooling and vessel heating, were investigated. Specifications for the energy management system and its integration with the fuel cell were defined, providing valuable insights for system integration.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Hydrogen quality from LOHC dehydrogenation is a key aspect in enabling LOHC-based hydrogen power trains as well as hydrogen transport as LOHC. The composition of hydrogen and assosiated inpurities from LOHC need to be known specifically so that firstly a choice can be made if a cleaning system is required for a certain application and if it is necessary, then choosing what kind of cleaning system is needed.

As with all new (hydrogen) related business, the value-chain is relatively long and funding and investments are needed in all parts of the value-chain to enable wide-spread use of the technology.