Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) offer an attractive solution to reduce the carbon emmisions of the maritime transport sector. Maritime propulsion systems powered by green hydrogen - produced from renewable electricity sources such as solar or wind - represent truly zero-emission energy systems. Additionally, PEMFCs offer high energy efficiencies with rapid refuelling times, and a modular design that offers easy scale up solutions into the MW range. Despite the continuous efforts of researchers over the past decade, the current landscape of fuel cell technologies shows limitations at the component level in terms of performance, durability, and production cost.
The LOCOMOTION project aims to address the challenges surrounding fuel cell adoption in maritime transport applications through a bottom-up approach to fuel cell component design. Specifically, we will be targeting the development of novel membrane, catalyst, and catalyst support materials to reduce the production cost of fuel cells and increase component durability under demanding maritime load cycles, while maintaining high performance.
Coordinator
Dr Patrick Fortin, SINTEF, Norway
Consortium
SINTEF, Norway
HyPlat, South Africa
TÜBİTAK MAM, Turkey
CealTech, Norway