When you think about fuel cell-powered transportation, you probably also think about automobiles. But Proton Power Systems might just change your perspective. PPS claims to have launched the world’s first fuel cell-powered passenger ferry. The ferry marks the first use of fuel cells in marine passenger transport.
The Zemship runs on a hybrid unit consisting of two 48 kW fuel cell systems and a lead gel battery— a combination that has twice the fuel efficiency of a diesel engine.
As you may have surmised, the fuel cells need to run on something. In this case, they run on gaseous hydrogen stored in onboard tanks. At any given time, the ship has enough fuel for three days.
A special hydrogen filling station has even been created for the Zemship. The station stores the hydrogen as a liquid, and then transforms it into a gas in an evaporator before compressing it.
After an initial test phase, the 100-passenger ship will go into commercial service later this year.
While the Zemship is an important breakthrough, we can’t forget that hydrogen is usually derived from oil and gas. However, the large reduction in carbon emissions promised by fuel-cell powered boats is still a boon to passenger ships.
More Posts on Fuel Cells:
- Nanotech Research Could Remove Need for Hydrogen in Fuel Cells
- How Biodiesel Fuel Cells Could Power The Future And Your Car
- Another Interesting Fuel Cell Development
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
