China’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Boat Unveiled!

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Credit: kunal-kalra-unsplash

China’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered boat “Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat No. 1” was successfully launched in Guangdong. It was invested and constructed by Jianglong Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. and was drawn-reviewed and inspected by CCS.

Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat

Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat No. 1”, about 49.9 m long and 10.4 m wide, capable of reaching a maximum speed of 28 km/h, is a passenger catamaran having a clean blue and white look and a hydrogen energy sign It is designed according to Class B service area and Class J2 service section of inland waterways and has a main hull of steel and superstructures of aluminum and glass curtain wall construction. The boat is powered by a 500 kW hydrogen fuel cell together with a 1800 kW·h lithium battery system. The “Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat No. 1” was designed by Wuhan Changjiang Ship Design Institute Co., Ltd., and its fuel cell system and lithium battery system were designed by the No. 712 Research Institute of China Shipping Group Co., Ltd. It has a maximum cruise range of 200 km at the economic speed. It also makes better environmental protection, better comfort, less energy consumption and less noise. The boat has obtained the characteristics of classification and class notations of FC-POWER 1, Green Ship-3, I-ship (M), EEDI-3 and Electrical Propulsion System, and has a higher green and intelligent ship rating. 

In the process of project implementation, the Drawing Review Project Team of CCS Wuhan Rules & Regulation Institute has actively kept the ship construction progress and cooperated with the ship construction drawing requirements. The technical personnel of the project team has repeatedly conducted point-to-point technical services with the ship owner, fuel cell system manufacturer, and designer on such key issues as hydrogen fuel power, system layout, etc., and assisted the 712 Research Institute in completing the type test and inspection of marine fuel cells. 

Using Hydrogen Fuel Cells

During the construction, the Construction Office of CCS Wuhan Branch has overcome the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and provided high-quality and efficient inspection services and technical support to the shipowner and shipyard based on all aspects of new shipbuilding. Under the high attention and coordination of the headquarters, a symposium was held on the difficulties in the construction of hydrogen cells. The Construction Office organized the drawing review, specification and product departments to Jianglong Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. to provide technical support before on-board installation of the hydrogen supply unit, in order to address the demand for welding of hydrogen pipelines and certification of hydrogen systems , and ensure that the boat is launched on schedule.

This use of hydrogen fuel cells will provide an important theoretical basis and data support for the subsequent promotion of hydrogen fuel cell boats in China. It also provides an important experimental platform for the testing and experiment of hydrogen fuel cell boats in China, marking that the key technologies of hydrogen fuel cell boats in China have reached a new level.

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Source: Marineinsight