Toshiba Delivers Fuel Cell System to Ship

The provider of energy industry solutions Toshiba (TOSYY) Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) announced that the company has delivered a mobile 30kW hydrogen fuel cell system, which volume per unit power output is reduced to 1/3 compared to the stationary fuel cell systems, to a fuel cell ship.

The fuel cell ship, which passed the Temporary Navigation Permit Inspection of Japan Craft Inspection Organization on October 30, has started demonstrations of the verification by NREG Toshiba Building Corporation and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT).

The newly mobile 30 kW pure hydrogen fuel cells system developed by Toshiba ESS will be available to install for vessels, railways and trucks. Hydrogen is used as fuel, allowing electricity to be generated without CO2. The system makes lower noise compared to standard ship engines, and it starts generating power in one minute at the shortest.

This time, Toshiba ESS can reduce the volume per unit power output to 1/3 compared to the stationary fuel cell systems due to its simplified design and package improvement. In addition, the system complies with the safety guidelines formulated by MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan).

NREG Toshiba Building Corporation and TUMSAT, as part of a joint research project, have contributed to the realization of environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cell ships and have begun demonstration tests of a fuel cell ship, “Raicho N,” with Toshiba’s 3.5kW pure hydrogen fuel cell system as of October 2016. This time, a fuel cell ship, which is installed with a larger 30kW pure hydrogen fuel cell system, will be featured in this validation experiment on the use of pure hydrogen fuel cell systems at sea, and will be followed with further investigations. The achievements from this validation experiment will be verified using the safety guidelines for fuel cell ships by the MLIT.

Yoshihisa Sanagi, General Manager of the Hydrogen Energy Business Div. at Toshiba ESS, said, “With the high durability of fuel cell systems, Toshiba will develop various hydrogen-related technologies, including not only existing stationary fuel cell systems, but also mobile fuel cell systems, for ships, trains and cars. Toshiba will continue to spread the use of hydrogen systems.”