Blue World Completes Testing on Methanol Fuel Cell System for Ships

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday July 1, 2024

Maritime technology firm Blue World Technologies has completed testing on a fuel cell system for ships that runs on methanol.

The firm's system is the world's first 200 kW high-temperature PEM fuel cell module, Blue World said in an emailed statement last week.

The system will have electrical efficiency of up to 55% at its commercial stage, resulting in fuel savings of 20-30%, the company said.

"This is a major breakthrough within maritime decarbonisation and with the test of our 200-kW system, we are proving that the HT PEM fuel cell technology has the potential of being one of the key technologies to decarbonise the hard-to-abate sectors," Dennis Naldal Jensen, chief technology officer at Blue World Technologies, said in the statement.

"During the test period, we successfully validated our system setup with the methanol fuel processor, the series connection of the fuel cell stacks, as well as the balance of plant components surrounding the fuel cells."

The company now plans to install a 1 MW pilot system on board one of AP Moller-Maersk's methanol-fuelled boxships in the first half of 2026.