The ZEUS (Zero Emission Ultimate Ship), developed in the framework of the national research project TecBia conducted by Fincantieri and co-founded by Italian Ministry of Economic Development, is a 25m length vessel characterized by a zero-emissions propulsion system. The on-board power generation is provided by 4 PEM Fuel Cell modules (140 kW power installation) fed by hydrogen stored into 48 Metal Hydride tanks (MH). PEMFC and MH thermal systems are coupled to recover the heat produced by PEMFC and to feed the endothermic dissociation reactions of hydrogen from MHs. This paper provides a Matlab-Simulink model to simulate the dynamic behaviour of the PEMFC power generation system and the thermal coupling with MH racks installed onboard. Three typical operative profiles are simulated to verify the thermal management control system and the impact of transient conditions on the propulsion plant. Furthermore, the effects of the major exogenous parameters are investigated. Results verify that thermal coupling between the two systems is guaranteed; however, an excessive load increase can lead the stacks to operate under non-optimal conditions for significant periods of time. The effect of exogenous parameters has been verified to be negligible and does not significantly affect the control system.
In this paper, an optimization algorithm based on a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) solver is developed to determine the best energy generation solutions for marine applications. Environmentally sustainable systems (e.g., fuel cells and batteries), heat recovery devices (e.g., HRSG and Organic Rankine Cycles) and traditional power technologies (e.g., diesel generators and fired boilers) are modelled as linear systems to simulate their off-design performance. The tool considers thermal, electrical and propulsion power demands, space constraints, fuel type and availability for up to three main-vertical zones of the ship. From this information, the optimizer identifies the energy system configuration which minimizes a cost optimization function. The objective function considers the actualized capital costs of each technology (based on real market data and updated literature review), fuel costs and CO2 emissions taxes. In this article, the case study of a cruise ship is considered. The optimization is performed referring to real historical load demands of the cruise ship and several typical mission profiles are considered to simulate a whole operational year. Then, the same optimization is performed after a reduction of the price of H2, which is expected in the near future according to the latest market forecasts. Thanks to this analysis, it is possible to determine the influence of this economic parameter on the optimal on-board power generation configuration. It is worth noting that the approach presented here has a general validity and can be applied for the optimization of various typologies of maritime vessels. Moreover, the MILP algorithm could be easily expanded to consider additional demands (e.g. cooling power), constraints (e.g., weight), and power systems.
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