Technology Firm Freudenberg Wins RINA Approval for Methanol Fuel Cell System

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday September 12, 2022

Technology company Freudenberg has received the initial approval of classification society RINA for its methanol-powered fuel cell system.

The company has been awarded approval in principle from RINA for the system, which is set to be the world's first, it said in a statement on its website last week.

The firm received official confirmation of the type approval at the SMM industry event in Hamburg last week.

"Fuel cells have tremendous advantages due to their high efficiency and low maintenance requirements," the company said in the statement.

"Therefore, it makes sense to chemically bind regeneratively produced hydrogen to achieve a significantly higher energy density.

"This will make fuel cells economically and practically viable for ocean-going shipping.

"The fuel cell system can of course be flexibly combined with Freudenberg e-Power Systems' maritime battery systems to create particularly efficient hybrid solutions."

Methanol as a bunker fuel has received significant support over the past two years after container line AP Moller-Maersk decided to make its first carbon-neutral vessels methanol-fuelled. But thus far most interest has focused on methanol's use in internal combustion engines rather than fuel cells.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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