Project e4ships2 Fuel cells in maritime applications

For more than a decade, partners in the e4ships innovation cluster have been working to create the necessary conditions and legal framework for the widespread adoption of hydrogen-based fuels—such as methanol, natural gas (CNG, LNG), diesel, and hydrogen (CH2, LH2)—and fuel cells in inland waterway and maritime vessels.

The e4ships cluster management program, led by hysolutions, focuses on the maritime demonstration projects Pa-X-ell, RiverCell, SchIBZ, MultiSchIBZ, and ELEKTRA, which are funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of the National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). These projects develop and implement concepts using fuel cell systems to provide on-board power, heat, and cooling for the accommodation needs of large seagoing vessels, as well as for the entire energy supply of inland waterway vessels.

Fuels with a low flash point, such as methanol, hydrogen, or other primary energy sources that can be used in fuel cell technology, require approval from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for use on seagoing vessels or from the European Committee for the Development of Standards in the Field of Inland Navigation (CESNI) for use on inland waterway vessels. These, in turn, complement the technical development steps to be carried out by the partners in the e4ships consortium until the technology is largely ready for deployment. Therefore, active participation in the creation of the necessary regulatory framework is the focus of the e4ships cluster management. In an initial project phase, a regulatory basis was established for the use of fuel cells on ships.