Fuel Cells finally find their way onto Ocean Shipping Vessels
by AlwaysGreen - December 23rd, 2009. Tagged as: Carbon Reduction, Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, Energy Efficiency, Global Green.It has taken awhile, but the shipping industry is finally beginning to test new green technologies on their ocean-going vessels.
Shipping is responsible for about 3% of the world’s carbon emissions since these massive vessels use large amounts of diesel gas to power some of the world’s largest engines. For a long time it was hard to fault the industry since they literally move everything we use whether we know it or not.
But currently docked in Copenhagen, the future of the industry is being tested for sea-worthiness and reliability. Aboard a Norwegian supply ship known as the “Viking Lady” there is a 320-kilowatt molten carbonate fuel cell that runs on liquefied natural gas.
The fuel cell can help the shipping vessel the Viking Lady reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent, CO2 emissions by 20 percent and eliminates sulfur dioxide and soot emissions. However, the fuel cell is still in testing phases and does not run any of the ships engines.
The fuel cell technology for ships has existed for some time, but it wasn’t until recently that much effort was put into its research. Given a $15 tax on carbon emissions and the industry could see an even greater boom.
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- U.S. Navy Sets Unofficial Hydrogen Fuel Cell Flight Time Record