Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Bloom Energy signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to design and develop fuel cell-powered ships
Bloom Energy said the two companies will work together to realise their vision of clean power for ships and the company’s chief executive K R Sridhar said “We see a collaboration with one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, SHI, as a moment to make measurable strides in reducing emissions and extending our mission for clean, reliable energy to the seas”.
SHI vice-president Haeki Jang said SHI’s goal is “to replace all existing main engines and generator engines with these highly efficient solid oxide fuel cells to align with IMO’s 2030 and 2050 environmental targets”.
SHI will be involved from early studies to project completion, to build the efficient fuel cell-powered ships while Bloom Energy has created a dedicated, cross-functional team of engineers to adapt the company’s servers to the requirements of the marine environment.
Both companies are working to present the design to potential customers in 2022. Following commercialisation, they anticipate the market for Bloom Energy Servers on SHI ships could grow to 300 MW annually.
The joint development agreement follows an approval in principle granted by DNV GL in 2019 to SHI for an Aframax tanker design that incorporates Bloom Energy’s fuel cells. The next class of ship to be submitted for design approval is the LNG carrier.
USA-based Bloom Energy is a market leader in fuel cell technology and supply to smooth peak power loads in a variety of land-based industrial settings where fuel cells replace traditional generators.
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