Shell-led consortium to explore potentially groundbreaking solid oxide fuel cells for ships

South Korean Doosan Group-owned HyAxiom and Doosan Fuel Cell (DFCC) have set out to design and manufacture two 300 kW solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) as a combined auxillary power unit for ships.

PHOTO: (from left to right) DNV's Vidar Dolonen, KSOE's Sam-Hyun Ka, Karrie Trauth from Shell, Doosan Fuel Cell chief executive Jeff Hyungrak Jeong and chief operating officer Huseok Che. HyAxiom

The combined 600 kW SOFCs will be developed and delivered by 2024, and subsequently trialled on a Shell-chartered LNG vessel for one year from 2025.

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding arm of Hyundai Heavy Industries, will integrate the system on a ship.

Norwegian classification society DNV will provide technical and safety advise.

This initiative could unlock a “pathway to net-zero” through the “blending of conventional and alternative fuels” until zero-carbon options are available on a large scale according to Karrie Trauth, senior vice president of shipping and maritime at Shell.

Current fuel cell technology is not quite there yet to power larger ocean-going ships. For that to happen, today’s proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells will have to make way for the next generation of SOFCs, hydrogen fuel cell maker TECO 2030's chief executive Tore Enger told Engine in an interview earlier this year.

Individual SOFCs are similar to PEM fuel cells in size, but larger when assembled together. SOFCs have higher energy efficiency compared to several other power sources.

While PEM fuel cell systems can be suitable for short-sea vessel voyages and for larger vessels during port operations, SOFCs will likely be needed to power some of the bigger vessels over greater distances.

Jeff Hyungrak Jeong, DFCC’s chief executive, expects hydrogen and ammonia-powered marine SOFCs to replace existing internal combustion engines as a pollution-free power source.

Vidar Dolonen, DNV's regional manager of maritime in Korea and Japan, calls SOFCs “one of the promising solutions for achieving net zero in maritime."

Last year, South Korean Samsung Heavy Industries built the world's first SOFC-powered LNG carrier in partnership with US-based Bloom Energy. The carrier does not require an internal combustion engine or other equipment that uses oil. It is instead powered by SOFCs using naturally vaporized LNG.

By Konica Bhatt

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