Hydrogen One methanol-to-hydrogen know-how was proved as an entire system in a current string check
The groundbreaking methanol-to-hydrogen know-how for use in Maritime Partners’ Hydrogen One towboat has accomplished a profitable string check in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the check, all the important thing elements of the vessel’s energy prepare had been assembled and examined as an entire system.
The land mark towboat can be powered by a primary of its variety system that takes methanol gasoline and converts it to hydrogen onboard vessels earlier than utilizing the hydrogen in a gasoline cell to generate energy. The string check was carried out on land on the headquarters of the PowerCell group, which is supplying the vessel’s gasoline cell, in cooperation with e1 Marine and RIX Marine.
Rix Marine methanol-to-hydrogen (M2H2) reformer programs, which use know-how licensed from e1, will ship the hydrogen to the gasoline cells. The Rix reformers generate high-purity (99.97%) hydrogen with zero NOx, SOx, or particulate matter, eliminating the complexities of on-board high-pressure fuel or cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage.
The string check demonstrated the respective applied sciences for a 200 kW propulsion chain. PowerCell says this chain may be multiplied and scaled to a megawatt degree.
NOT JUST FOR INLAND VESSELS
While the methanol-to-hydrogen energy prepare will debut on a U.S. inland river towboat, the know-how unlocks new alternatives for a broad vary of hydrogen-powered vessels.
Storing the gasoline as methanol is much less complicated than utilizing hydrogen. The reformer outputs low-pressure hydrogen on demand when wanted. This permits a protected set up and extremely built-in options which have minimal affect on the general vessel design and doesn’t must be put in on climate decks. This provides an efficient technique of utilizing inexperienced methanol, produced from renewable power, to allow a web zero-carbon answer.
“The successful completion of these tests gives future ship owners, integrators and methanol suppliers the confidence they need in this powerful combination of technologies,” stated PowerCell Group CEO Richard Berkling. “Fuel cells are some of the most efficient ways to extract energy from fuel, and we are deploying them at a scale never seen before. This can be seen in our project with Torghatten Nord, where we will supply 12,8 MW fuel cells on Norway’s longest ferry route – the largest maritime project to date. This string test demonstrates that whatever the fuel, the new generation of fuel cells is ready to use it.”
“This rigorous test has delivered exciting results thanks to a great deal of collaboration between equipment suppliers, and the results should be a cause for optimism across the industry,” stated Robert Schluter, managing director at e1 Marine. “This test demonstrates that a methanol-to-hydrogen power chain is ready and waiting to deliver renewable power to a range of maritime applications.”
Austin Sperry, president and co-founder at Maritime Partners, stated: “We too are pleased by the results and system validation, allowing the M/V Hydrogen One to hit the water in 2024.”
