Future Proof Shipping selects PEM fuel-cell system
Future Proof Shipping (FPS) has appointed Koedood Marine Group to supply a complete proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel-cell system to retrofit its inland container vessel Maas to hydrogen power.
The system supplied by Koedood will comprise of fuel-cell stacks and technology from Nedstack.
The FPS team has guided the vessel’s zero-emissions retrofit design in close co-operation with Koedood, Nedstack, the shipyard and other main suppliers. This month (June 2021), FPS gave the green light to Holland Shipyards Group (HSG) to procure the complete PEM fuel-cell system from Koedood.
Koedood will build three fuel-cell units of 275 kW each and subcontract Nedstack to supply the fuel-cell stacks for each of the units as part of their partnership for inland navigation. During the retrofit later this year, HSG will install the fuel-cell units on board Maas.
The 110-m inland container vessel will be retrofitted at the yard in Hardinxveld in 2021 and the zero-emissions ship will hit the water running 100% on hydrogen power by the end of this year.
The PEM fuel-cell system is used to convert hydrogen into electricity and will be installed in the cargo space of Maas. It is triple redundant with 825 kW capacity to supply propulsion and auxiliary power.
FPS said “PEM fuel cells are considered to be the most versatile type of fuel cells currently in production. They produce the most power for a given weight or volume of fuel cell, they are also lightweight with a high power density and cold-start capability.
In a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen react in an electro-chemical manner to produce an electric current, pure water and heat.
“The maritime knowledge and expertise of the Koedood group, together with the fuel-cell capabilities of Nedstack, provide us with an optimised product we can be confident in. It helps that we are all on the same page – collaborating to create a more sustainable future for the inland waterways in Europe,” said FPS director operations Fokke van der Veen.
“Adding marine-certified hydrogen fuel-cell systems to our hybrid ship propulsion capabilities did not come easily. We are proud to take this next step with FPS and spearhead hydrogen technology into the maritime domain. With our can-do attitude, we are confident there will be more vessels to follow soon,” said Koedood Marine Group sales manager Gertjan de Gelder.
Post retrofit, Maas will carry on shipping container cargo between Rotterdam and an inland terminal near Antwerp and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,000 CO2e tonnes annually.
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