Yanmar Holdings Co. (Osaka, Japan) and its subsidiary Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd. have announced the development of a hydrogen fuel-cell system for maritime applications based on fuel cell technology for automobiles, as part of efforts to offer environment-friendly powertrain solutions.
The new fuel-cell system for maritime applications addresses emissions-control challenges (Source: Yanmar)
With the International Maritime Organization announcing a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero by the end of this century, marine environmental regulations have been tightened worldwide and the implementation of emission control areas has begun to have an effect on ship operations.
The next challenge is to develop non-fossil-fuel powertrains. As a part of this challenge, Yanmar has been working on development of future powertrains using hydrogen as fuel. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Toyota Motor Corp. to develop a hydrogen fuel cell system for maritime applications based on hydrogen fuel cell system components including high pressure hydrogen tanks on MIRAI, a hydrogen fuel cell automobile manufactured by Toyota. With a view to realizing an easily installable module with superior cruising range, Yanmar aims to install the maritime fuel cell system on its own boat and start a field demonstration test by the end of 2020. Furthermore, the company plans to expand the technology for a variety of applications and deployments.
Hydrogen is seeing increased use in various applications, including recent projects that have piloted hydrogen’s use to power steelmaking and rail transport. In the maritime sector, ABB and Hydrogène de France are also working to manufacture large-scale hydrogen fuel cells to power large ships.