Green Energy Supply for Ships

Environmental Protection has become a major concern in the shipping industry for the past years. Two thirds of worldwide cargo transport goes by ship. Ships are responsible for two percent of global CO2 emissions, up to 15 percent of NOx and about six percent of SOx. I came across this article from the WorldMaritime News issued March 25, 2008, which to my mind reflects the awareness of innovation that is geared towards pro-environmentalism. A group of Scandinavian and German companies are cooperating on a research project, with support from Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Following the successful conclusion of the concept phase, now for the first time in the world a ship is being fitted with a high-temperature fuel cell for operational trials. The fuel used will be liquid natural gas (LNG). The HotModule fuel cell from CFC Solutions features an electrical efficiency of 47 percent and is nearly free of harmful emissions. A test version will be installed by the end of 2008 in a gas-powered supply ship called the "Viking Energy" in order to test the suitability of fuel cells for the clean generation of onboard supply of electricity and power on ships of up to 320 kilowatts of total requirements. By using the fuel cell, a vessel could avoid an annual 4,755 tons of CO2 and 33 tons of SO2 as well as 180 tons of nitrogen oxides emissions - equivalent to approximately 20,000 car emissions.