MSC cruise ship tests Bloom Energy’s LNG fuel cells for auxiliary power

US-based Bloom Energy claims that deployment of its fuel cells has improved efficiency of a luxury cruise ship operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

PHOTO: The LNG fuel cell-powered cruise ship MSC World Europa. MSC Cruises

The company’s 150 kilowatts (kW) solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) platform utilised liquefied natural gas (LNG) to provide auxiliary power to MSC Cruises-operated cruise ship MSC World Europa. This was done while the ship was docked in Qatar late last year.

The cruise ship was built by French shipyard Chantiers de l’Atlantique (CdA).

Bloom Energy claims that its SOFC platform demonstrated a 60% increase in electrical efficiency while the vessel was berthed.

It also reduced “carbon emissions by 30% with no methane slippage,” the company adds.

The ABS and Bureau Veritas-approved SOFC platform also achieved full power output during the cruise ship’s voyage between “Saint-Nazaire and Qatar while in the Mediterranean Sea.”

These fuel cells “have now proven that they will be effective in decarbonizing shipping, both in port and on the high seas,” Bloom Energy’s senior director Suminder Singh says.

Bloom Energy and CdA are currently working to develop a fuel cell-based multi-MW system for the shipping industry.

By Tuhin Roy

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