Project description
Scaling fuel cell technology for clear marine engines
To successfully decarbonise global shipping, zero-emission propulsion must become a rational business choice rather than just a research and experimental pilot. This requires addressing key commercial barriers related to system cost, efficiency and lifetime when compared to diesel and batteries. The EU-funded MARINER project plans to develop a modular, 1-MW proton exchange membrane fuel cell system. The proposed design targets a cost below EUR 1 200 per kW and over 55 % net efficiency. The resulting prototype will undergo 1 000 hours of real-world environmental testing and accelerated stress tests. Simulations will be carried out to extend its operational lifespan to 80 000 hours. MARINER targets a viable powertrain that will help European manufacturers confidently adopt green shipping.
Objective
MARINER will develop and validate a modular, scalable 1 MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell system specifically designed for maritime applications, directly addressing key barriers to decarbonizing shipping. Aligned with the CH-JU’s objectives, the project targets critical cost, efficiency, and lifetime performance breakthroughs. MARINER will :
1. Design a modular multi stack architecture that follows the open StaSHH interface, integrates shared balance of plant, fault tolerant power electronics and hydrogen efficient recirculation, and meets < 1 200 €/kW CAPEX and ≥ 55 % (LHV) net efficiency targets.
2. Assemble and validate a 200 kW prototype, then scale to a containerised 1 MW demonstrator, undergoing 1 000 h endurance under moist, salty and temperature varied conditions, while a 200 kW module accrues the equivalent of 40 000 h through system level accelerated stress testing.
3. Develop open source digital twins, diagnostics and health conscious control, enabling 100 × faster than real time simulation, predictive maintenance and safe load sharing that extends lifetime towards the 80 000 h 2030 KPI.
4. Quantify total cost of ownership, life cycle impacts and circularity, benchmarked against diesel, LNG and battery alternatives, and publish best practice guidelines, safety procedures and a roadmap to type approval (TRL 9).
5. Engage end users, regulators and parallel EU projects (StaSHH, HyShip, ZEWT, etc.), ensuring harmonised test protocols, feedback to standards and a clear market uptake path for European OEMs and SMEs.
By delivering a marine ready, scalable 1 MW PEMFC building block and the tools and evidence to de risk commercial adoption, MARINER will convert stack level breakthroughs into a deployable, certifiable, economically viable power train family, accelerating the point where zero emission shipping is the rational business choice, not an R&D pilot.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2025
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5838 BERGEN
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.