Page 34: of Marine News Magazine (July 2022)

33 35

Feature

Alternative Fuels operation of the fuel cell signi? cantly.” New and differ- The fuel cell was built by Zero Emission Industries, ent safety issues required close attention. The report raised whose CEO/CTO is Joseph Pratt, PhD, a Sandia Labs rather unthinkable concerns. One example: that a release alum. The power package is comprised of 360 kW of of unignited hydrogen might be sucked into a tug’s inte- Cummins fuel cells and Hexagon hydrogen storage tanks rior spaces, while the tug was adjacent to the generator, or with a capacity of 246 kg. This system is integrated with into the tug’s diesel air intakes. This was eventually judged 100 kWh of a lithium-ion battery provided by XALT and unlikely, at least with this project. But it exempli? es the a 2x 300 kW electric propulsion system provided by BAE myriad of outside-the-box issues raised by the prospect of Systems. AAM writes that “the hydrogen fuel cell pow- using a novel and dangerous fuel in a dense work zone and ertrain system affords the same operational ? exibility as the need to evaluate each issue. diesel with zero emissions and less maintenance.”

Unfortunately, once completed, the fuel cell project Joe Pratt was asked about how the Sea Change trials stopped. A subsequent project at the Scripps Institution of went. He said there were some “typical conditioning things,

Oceanography was derailed by COVID. Now the unit is some having to do with the boat and some with the H fuel idle and likely to be decommissioned. cell, but at the end of the day everything worked well.”

Pratt stressed that “H fuel cells are nothing new,” the

Sea Change tech has been in the market since the late 1990s, power-

This past February, the Sea Change, the world’s ? rst ing numerous vehicles, from forklifts to buses to passenger commercial hydrogen fuel cell, 70-foot, 75-passenger fer- cars. “We understand what it’s going to take to get the sys- ry was launched for sea trials in Bellingham, Wash. The tem to work,” he commented.

Sea Change was built by All American Marine (AAM) for Pratt said the next challenge is to streamline production.

SWITCH Maritime. “Our biggest lesson learned,” he commented, “is that we www.marinelink.com MN 35|