EMEA News
Meyer Werft-led Consortium Seeks to Develop Fuel Cell Technology for Cruise Ships
German shipbuilder Meyer Werft and partners are seeking to develop fuel cell technology to power cruise ships.
Under the zero4cruise project launched last week in Munich, the consortium seeks to develop a hybrid energy system to power cruise ships by integrating proton exchange members (PEM) fuel cells with methanol-reformer and battery systems, Meyer Werft said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.
They aim to use green methanol to power the PEM fuel cells.
A methanol-reformer breaks down methanol into hydrogen, which can be used to power fuel cells to generate electricity. The electricity can be used to power the ship or recharge onboard battery systems.
"The project's core goal is to create large-scale fuel cell stacks (DLR) and fuel cell systems (Freudenberg e-Power Systems) that can be retrofitted on existing ships," Meyer Werft said.
It says retrofitting is critical to increase the lifespan of existing cruise ships.
While fuel cell technology has been utilised in smaller vessels, this project could pave the way for its adoption in larger ships, such as cruise ships. However, the technology is still in its early stages for larger vessels and requires further testing to demonstrate its ability to support long-haul voyages.
One of the project partners, the German Aerospace Centre, is carrying out testing of a 500-kW maritime fuel cell system to simulate cruise ship load cycles and prove long-term viability.
The zero4cruise project has received a funding of €18.7 million from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
