Fuel cell systems can substitute 160 GW of auxiliary engines worldwide

9. Sep. 2010 | GL releases market study for fuel cell systems on seagoing vessels.

The installed auxiliary power onboard of seagoing vessel has a market potential of approximately 160 GW worldwide and can, in principle, substituted by fuel cells in order to reduce emissions to air. This is one of the conclusions of a market study for fuel cell systems carried out by Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and the Hamburg City Administration for Urban Development and Environment.

GL experts examined the technical possibilities, the currently available technology, integration concepts and the legal background for the use of fuel cells on board of ships. The target prices for fuel cell systems have been analysed as well as the market size onboard seagoing vessels. For the study approximately 53 % of the world merchant fleet have been analysed.

The study also shows that five years after the finalisation of the development of first systems for commercial shipping, fuel cell systems can be competitive in comparison with traditional diesel engines from an economic point of view - even if the prices for fuel cell systems will be higher at this time.

The first identified markets for fuel cell application are cruise vessels, RoPax vessels and mega yachts. With fuel cell system reaching economic competitiveness, a much larger market for ship types like container feeders will be open.

"The study concludes that fuel cell systems have a high market potential in shipping in the future", says Dr Gerd-Michael Würsig, GL's expert for fuel cell technology and one of the authors of the study. "Today, still some technical challenges have to be overcome. But current and ongoing projects already demonstrate the suitability of fuel cells systems for power generation on board of ships. Fuel cell will be one technology of the future for environmental friendly power generation on board!"

Environmental concerns, environmental regulations and high energy prices force the shipping industry to more efficient and greener vessel. One solution to achieve this goal is the use of fuel cell systems for power generation on board.

Apart from the high efficiency of the fuel cell system of more than 50 %, the very low or no emissions (depending on the fuel type) are a big argument for the use of fuel cell systems on board of ships. Further more, the modular design and the negligible noises and vibrations give the fuel cell system a big advantage compared to traditional power generation on board of ships.

GL has been involved in developing ships, storage and transfer facilities for hydrogen. As the world's first classification society, it has developed its own guidelines for the use of fuel cells in watercraft. These not only cover fuel cells and fuel systems but also standards for the materials used, ventilation systems, fire-fighting equipment, explosion protection and other safety systems. They also give guidance on testing the fuel-cell system.

Germanischer Lloyd press release