Bloom, Samsung announce plans to use fuel cell ships as way to reduce emissions from ships

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Image from Bloom Energy
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Image from Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) announced a collaboration to design and develop ships powered by Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cell technology.

SHI aims to be the first shipbuilder to deliver a large cargo ship for ocean operation powered by fuel cells running on natural gas.

Fuel cells could play a key role in helping the company exceed the 50 percent emissions reduction target, compared to 2008 levels, that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has mandated aby 2050.

The two companies have already taken a first step towards commercializing the maritime use of fuel cells for propulsion and auxiliary power.

During a ceremony at a  shipyard, Samsung Heavy Industries announced they have received Approval in Principle from DNV GL, the internationally accredited marine shipping registrar and classification society, in collaboration with Bloom Energy to proceed with a fuel-cell-powered ship design for Aframax crude oil tankers (COTs).

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“As regulations to reduce GHG emissions take effect step-by-step, the introduction of fuel cells to vessels is inevitable. This approval, and being the first shipbuilder to secure this marine fuel cell technology, illustrates that Samsung Heavy is highly likely to lead the market,” said Kyunghee Kim, vice president of SHI Outfitting Engineering Team.

As of today, 80 percent of the world’s shipping fleet runs on heavy fuel oil or bunker fuel. The combustion of this fuel to provide propulsion and auxiliary power to ships causes the marine transport industry to produce between two and three percent of global carbon emissions. If the global marine shipping industry was a country, it would be the sixth-largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

Bloom Energy and SHI estimate that replacing oil-based power generation on large cargo ships, which require up to 100 megawatts of power per ship, could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 45 percent.

Combustion of bunker fuel also emits sulfur and particulate matter that causes respiratory illness. A 2018 study found that health impacts due to pollution from shipping include 14 million cases of childhood asthma annually and 400,000 premature deaths a year from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.

“Bloom Energy has already helped companies around the world reduce their carbon emissions by more than four billion pounds of CO2,” said KR Sridhar, founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. “Bringing the Bloom Energy Server’s transformative clean technology to the shipping industry provides us with a tremendously exciting opportunity to accelerate the decarbonization of another vital sector of the global economy.”

In contrast to bunker fuel combustion, Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel cells generate electric power through an electrochemical reaction, without combustion, that virtually eliminates particulate emissions.

Bloom Energy Servers use natural gas, biogas or hydrogen as fuel. Bloom Energy and SHI envision onboard fuel cells being powered by natural gas, converted from liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is already commonly transported by marine shipping worldwide.

The modularity of Bloom Energy Servers makes them well suited to the space constraints of ships. Bloom Energy Servers can be deployed in increments as small as 200 kilowatts, enabling power sources to be distributed throughout a ship to impove  space utilization. SHI envisions Bloom Energy Servers displacing existing power generation sets, and therefore requiring no additional space, or even reducing the total space required for power generation.

Bloom Energy Servers have been deployed hundreds of times on land including on-site at commercial and industrial businesses, counting 25 of the Fortune 100 companies. The same technology has been approved by DNV GL to be deployed aboard ships with minor modifications to suit ship installation and use in an enclosed environment.

Bloom Energy recently announced the capability of its fuel cells to run on hydrogen. As nations and ports develop their hydrogen infrastructure, fuel cell-powered ships could transition from natural gas fuel to hydrogen fuel and become zero-carbon and zero-smog emitters.

In contrast to bunker fuel combustion, Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel cells generate electric power through an electrochemical reaction, without combustion, that virtually eliminates particulate emissions, NOx, and SOx – an important consideration for the shipping industry.

Bloom Energy Servers use natural gas, biogas or hydrogen as fuel. Bloom Energy and SHI envision onboard fuel cells being powered by natural gas, converted from liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is already commonly transported by marine shipping worldwide.

Unlike large, multi-megawatt generating combustion engines, Bloom Energy Servers can be deployed in increments as small as 200 kilowatts, enabling power sources to be distributed throughout a ship to impove  space utilization. SHI envisions Bloom Energy Servers displacing existing power generation sets, and therefore requiring no additional space, or even reducing the total space required for power generation.

Bloom Energy Servers have been deployed hundreds of times on land including on-site at commercial and industrial businesses, counting 25 of the Fortune 100 companies. The same technology has been approved by DNV GL to be deployed aboard ships with minor modifications to suit ship installation and use in an enclosed environment.

Bloom Energy recently announced the capability of its fuel cells to run on hydrogen. As nations and ports develop their hydrogen infrastructure, fuel cell-powered ships could transition from natural gas fuel to hydrogen fuel and become zero-carbon and zero-smog emitters.

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