Alfa Laval, DTU Energy, Haldor Topsøe, Svitzer, and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have launched a joint project to accelerate the development of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology for marine applications.

The SOFC4Maritime project, funded through a grant from the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program, will target optimal utilization of future green fuels via application of SOFCs for power production on marine vessels.

The research will have ammonia-based SOFCs as its starting point. "By electrochemically converting fuel into electricity, SOFCs can potentially produce power with higher efficiency than internal combustion engines running on the same fuel - without creating polluting emissions or particulates. Ammonia-based SOFCs are especially attractive, since ammonia can be produced in large scale using renewable electricity and no biomass resource," the parties said in a press release.

Alfa Laval will head the development initiative. Haldor Topsoe will provide the underlying SOFC stack technology, while DTU Energy will support in system layout and component testing. Svitzer will bring a ship owner perspective and the Mærsk McKinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping will ensure a broad industry overview, end-to-end analysis of various energy pathways, and a detailed techno-economic analysis.

"We are proud to contribute with our competences within SOFC technology and ammonia as a marine fuel in order to reduce carbon emissions from shipping. This is an urgent goal in combatting climate change," Kim Grøn Knudsen, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Haldor Topsoe, commented.

To this Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, added, "We are eager to pursue this project, which will provide essential information and enhance the feasibility of future pathways to zero carbon shipping based on SOFCs."

Photo: Alfa Laval