The Maritime Administration is testing state-of-the-art, environmentally efficient technology onboard the training ship Kennedy. Marad provided the National Defense Reserve Fleet vessel to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy for cadet training.
The one-year contract was awarded in September and is part of a Marad initiative to test fuel cells as a source of power for shipboard electrical systems. Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction. Each cell has two electrodes, one positive (anode) and one negative (cathode). The reactions that produce electricity take place at the electrodes.
Marad said the objective is to refurbish and test a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) on low sulfur diesel fuel for shipboard operation.
“This fuel cell project is part of a larger effort undertaken by the Maritime Administration to address emerging environmental and energy issues in the maritime sector,” Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen said in an email, “including the potential for alternative fuels and energy technology to reduce air emissions.”
Researchers will evaluate the performance of the fuel cell technology and how low sulfur marine diesel fuel can be used to efficiently power a fuel cell to produce auxiliary power. Unlike using low sulfur fuel in diesel engine generators to provide electrical power, the system is designed to produce no harmful air emissions. “The cold exhaust exiting the system contains no detectible NOx/SOx due to the nature of the electrochemical reaction,” Marad said.
Similar systems have shown 100% availability over 20,000 hours (2.3 years) of continuous operation. Complete lifetime cycles are still being determined.
Marad said the fuel cell electric generator operates silently and generates electricity without mechanical motion. This provides efficiencies 20%-50% greater than standard generators.
Acumentrics SOFC Corp., Westwood, Mass., manufactured the fuel cell. — Ken Hocke
