The world's first hydrogen-powered river vessel

One of the two mentioned units will be the river pusher of Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (CFT – a French subsidiary of the Sogestran group). The ship to operate on the Rodan River in France will be equipped with ABB drives and the company's energy system, based on fuel cells. With hydrogen, which will be sourced from renewable energy sources on land, the entire energy chain of the vessel is to be free of emissions. The pusher will be launched in 2021.

– For more than half a century, CFT has been an Inland Shipping Innovator. Supplying river transport in a sustainable way is a new kind of challenge, but reducing emissions on inland waterways, especially within cities, has become a necessity. The project is intended to show that carbon-free exploitation is both feasible and financially viable," said Matthieu Blanc, Managing Director at CFT.

ABB has been a member of FLAGSHIPS since its launch in January 2019. The company cooperates closely with VTT, Finnish research organisation and project coordinator, as well as with leading provider of innovative fuel cell and clean energy solutions – Ballard Power Systems Europe. Cooperation is intended to help develop a 400 kW fuel cell installation to power vessels.

– Through our active participation in the project, we are crossing the boundaries of e-mobility in shipping," added Peter Terwiesch, Director of Industrial Automation in ABB. – We want to engage in the future of the maritime industry, in which ships will sail in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way.

The project is also intended to demonstrate that fuel cells represent a practical and achievable drive for both owners and mid-sized shipbuilders who can transport more than 100 passengers (or cargo equivalent) on inland or coastal waters at once. For this reason, FLAGSHIPS' scope of action also includes an assessment of the operational effects of the transition to hydrogen as fuel.

After installing the fuel cell installation, the CFT vessel is to be operated daily, paying particular attention to the necessary future schedule of operations of the unit of the refuelling procedure. The attempts will therefore also provide information on the development and optimisation of the refuelling infrastructure.

Sea transport is estimated to emit around 940 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The International Maritime Organisation, the UN agency responsible for maritime safety and security, adopted a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ships by at least 50% by 2050 (for 2008) and the final objective is to eliminate emissions altogether.

Fuel cell technology is widely recognised as one of the most promising sustainable energy solutions. Fuel cells transform fuel chemical energy into electricity by electrochemical reaction.

The FLAGSHIPS project is supported by Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) – a joint venture for fuel cells and hydrogen technologies. It is a public-private partnership established under Horizon 2020 which aims to accelerate the commercial implementation of transport and energy technologies. The three members of the FCH JU are the European Commission, Hydrogen Europe and the research community represented by Hydrogen Europe Research. LMG Marin, NCE Maritime CleanTech and PersEE are also involved in the construction of the new CFT vessel.

Źródło: ABB