10+ fuel cell swords point to the new progress of "marine".

The pace of green transformation of the shipping industry is accelerating, and the application of new energy propulsion technology in green ships is becoming an important development direction. Hydrogen, which has the advantages of high energy efficiency and zero carbon emissions, as a green marine fuel, is indeed an ideal power propulsion device for green ships. At present, a number of domestic fuel cell companies have taken ships as one of the important application scenarios in the in-depth exploration.

Specifically, there are: National Hydrogen Technology, Hydrogen Blue Era, Hydrogen Pu Chuangneng, Future Energy, Tomorrow Hydrogen Energy, Oriental Hydrogen Energy, Wind Hydrogen Yang Technology, China Shipbuilding 712 Institute, Zhongyu Power, etc., in addition, Hydrogen Tu Technology and Hydrogen Jet Technology are also promoting marine fuel cell research projects. What progress have these companies made in the development and application of marine fuel cells? Will this road be easier and more promising than in a car scenario? Let's take a closer look:

Many fuel cells have poured into the new progress of "marine".

At this stage, the focus of domestic fuel cell development has changed from technology demonstration to commercialization, based on the development of vehicle applications is less than expected, almost every fuel cell company is diversifying and expanding to achieve the sustainability of the company's development. At present, the marine field is the "sword" direction of most fuel cell companies. The following is an introduction to some of the relevant developments of enterprises that have poured into the development and promotion of marine fuel cells:

National Hydrogen Technology has independently developed the "Hydrogen Teng" marine hydrogen fuel cell system, and in January this year, the hydrogen energy ship "Xihai Xinyuan No. 1" equipped with the system was successfully launched; In June, the "Xihai Xinyuan No. 1" was officially delivered, becoming the first commercial hydrogen fuel cell powered tour ship in China. The ship system has a net output of 240kW and a cruising range of about 4 hours, which is specially developed for ship application scenarios, and the localization rate of parts and components is 100%.

In August 2021, Hydrogen Blue Times established a project to develop marine 80kW hydrogen fuel cell system products, and since August 2, 2023, the type test of the product has been completed and the CCS type approval certificate has been obtained. At the same time, the hydrogen blue era is also carrying out the layout of ship power system solutions to promote the development of hydrogen energy ships in offshore and inland waterways.

Hydrogen Pur has successfully developed the 200kW marine fuel cell system Ocean200, and obtained the type approval certificate of China Classification Society, which is the first 200kW marine fuel cell system in China to obtain CCS certification. At present, Hydrogen Pu Chuangneng is based in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, to lay out marine high-power fuel cell systems. This year, Jiangsu Yaoyang New Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hydrogen Pu Chuangneng, took the lead in undertaking the project of "R&D of Fuel Cell System for Ship High Power, High Efficiency and High Reliability Fuel Cell System", a special scientific and technological innovation project for carbon peak and carbon neutrality in Jiangsu Province.

The marine fuel cell power generation system independently developed by Weishi Energy successfully obtained the type approval certificate issued by China Classification Society (CCS) in January this year. Compared with similar mainstream products, the comprehensive performance indicators have reached the leading level, and the localization rate has reached 100%, with technical advantages such as high integration, high energy conversion efficiency and AI intelligent control. At present, the system has been officially applied to the mainland hydrogen-powered transport ship "Lihu Future".

Tomorrow hydrogen energy in the field of ships has also launched an attack, this year the company was elected as the vice president of the Anhui Shipbuilding Industry Association, the product has been completed MTSYS120 the development of special fuel cell systems for ships, this year will launch the second generation of 200kW ship special system, is expected to be released in September.

Dongfang Hydrogen Energy has independently developed a marine fuel cell power generation system, and has recently obtained the type approval certificate of China Classification Society (CCS), indicating that the company's marine fuel cell system design and manufacturing capabilities have met the requirements of China Classification Society and have the ability to be applied in the marine field. It is reported that the marine fuel cell power generation system developed by Dongfang Hydrogen Energy is based on self-developed membrane electrodes and fuel cell stack products, and is designed and developed in strict accordance with the accreditation standards announced by the Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China and China Classification Society. The R&D team has successively carried out the three-level development design and mapping test of the principle prototype, the prototype and the certification prototype, and solved the adaptability problem of the safe and efficient and reliable operation of the marine system through the optimization and iterative design of chemical principles, electrical principles, installation structures, control strategies, etc.

The 110kW marine fuel cell system developed and launched by Hydrogenyang Technology and CSSC Power has successfully obtained the Approval-in-Principle (AIP) of the French Bureau of Shipping (BV), which meets the requirements of the latest "Guidelines for Fuel Cell Power Generation Devices for Marine Applications" released by CCS, and can help the industrial application of green and intelligent ships in inland waterways.

CSSC 712 has also achieved a breakthrough in marine fuel cell technology. On October 11 last year, the first domestic "Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat 1" demonstration ship classified as China Classification (CCS) and equipped with a 500 kilowatt hydrogen fuel power system independently developed by China Shipbuilding 712 officially completed its maiden voyage at the Three Gorges Visitor Center (Nine Wharves) in Yichang, Hubei Province. This year, it successfully signed a contract for a 7,000-horsepower hydrogen-electric tugboat hydrogen fuel cell system in Qingdao Port, which is the first application of domestic hydrogen fuel cell technology on a tugboat after the successful demonstration operation of the hydrogen fuel cell system in the "Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat 1".

In addition to these companies, Zhongyu Power exhibited the IonWave series of marine fuel cell systems, with a power range of 60-210kW, and other manufacturers such as Hydrogen Tu Technology and Hydrogen Jet Technology are also continuing to promote marine fuel cell research projects.

As we all know, Europe, America, Japan and South Korea and other countries and regions started earlier in the research and development and design of marine fuel cells, and are currently in a leading position in the application and promotion of engineering, and there have been more applications and demonstration projects of marine fuel cell power propulsion devices. In this regard, the mainland has obviously "rolled up its sleeves" and started to do it.

The use of fuel cells in ships has obvious advantages

Among the existing technology routes for ship decarbonization, fuel cells are actually a promising option: they are significantly more efficient than internal combustion engines, and they can achieve cleaner end-use emissions while using less energy; At the same time, it has an energy supply method similar to that of an internal combustion engine, which solves the problem of battery life anxiety by carrying and supplying working fuel externally and refilling it again in a short time, basically having both sides of the coin of decarbonization.

At the 2024 (6th) High-tech Hydrogen Power Industry Conference held recently, Dr. Cao Guijun, Director and Executive Vice President of Hydrogen Blue Times, stated five significant advantages of fuel cell ships from the perspective of inland rivers or offshore waters:

Another industry insider recently made a public calculation of lithium batteries and fuel cells under the new energy transformation of ships from the two dimensions of weight and price: "Taking a 64TEU container ship as an example, according to a single voyage of 250km, it needs to be equipped with a 5000kWh battery and weighs about 40 tons. If hydrogen is equipped with the same energy, the weight of the hydrogen cylinder is less than 6 tons, and the total weight of the entire combustion power system is no more than 12 tons, which will undoubtedly help to transport more goods. In addition, the power system is equipped with a 5,000 kWh battery, which costs about 10 million yuan, and if a fuel cell solution is used, it will only cost about half. In addition, when the price of hydrogen is lower than 30 yuan/kg, the cost of hydrogen use is comparable to that of a battery-swapping ship. ”

Peng Yuanting, chief expert of China State Shipbuilding Group and researcher/doctoral supervisor of CSSC 712 Institute, even judged: "With the development of high-density hydrogen energy production, storage and transportation, the significant reduction of costs, the scale of fuel replenishment stations and the progress of fuel cell technology, hydrogen fuel will become the mainstream energy of a new generation of inland waterway ships and the auxiliary energy of offshore and ocean-going ships." ”

The gradual deepening of the concept of green ships and the advantages of fuel cell application in ships have begun to be discovered, which is the fundamental reason why fuel cell technology has become the key research direction of ship power reform. At this stage, the key issues affecting the application and promotion of hydrogen energy ships are technology iteration and cost reduction. With the growth of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in China, the price of green hydrogen will definitely fall, which will reduce the fuel cost of hydrogen ships, and the cost performance of hydrogen ships will be further revealed.