Conceptual design of offshore platform supply vessel based on hybrid diesel generator-fuel cell power plant

Abstract

Conceptual design of PSV ship with hybrid diesel electric-FC power plant is presented. Two methanol-fed 250 kW SOFC systems are installed on board with 21 days autonomy. Cogeneration heat from SOFC allows answering hot water needs on board. Optimized hull design allows sailing with SOFCs and only one diesel generator. At ECO-Speed operation mode pollutant emissions are notably reduced. a b s t r a c tNowadays increasing fuel prices and upcoming pollutant emission regulations are becoming a growing concern for the shipping industry worldwide. While fuel prices will keep rising in future years, the new International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and Sulphur Emis-sions Control Areas (SECA) regulations will forbid ships to use heavy fuel oils at certain situations. To fulfil with these regulations, the next step in the marine shipping business will comprise the use of cleaner fuels on board as well as developing new propulsion concept. In this work a new conceptual marine pro-pulsion system is developed, based on the integration of diesel generators with fuel cells in a 2850 metric tonne of deadweight platform supply vessel. The efficiency of the two 250 kW methanol-fed Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) system installed on board combined with the hydro dynamically optimized design of the hull of the ship will allow the ship to successfully operate at certain modes of operation while notably reduce the pollutant emissions to the atmosphere. Besides the cogeneration heat obtained from the fuel cell system will be used to answer different heating needs on board the vessel.

Optimising design and power management in energy-efficient marine vessel power systems: a literature review

“…The feasibility of using a hybrid power system for different vessel types was studied by Dedes et al (2012), Völker (2013), Díaz-de Baldasano et al (2014), Andersson and Logason (2015), NSBA (2015) and Yum et al (2016). The service life of the battery, availability of shore power, vessel size and chartering commands and use of generated heat were found to influence the feasibility of the hybridisation depending on the vessel type.…”

Operational profiles of ships in Norwegian waters: An activity-based approach to assess the benefits of hybrid and electric propulsion

“…Fuel cells can provide power for full/partial propulsion, auxiliary power units and hot water/vapour generation using cogeneration (Díaz- de-Baldasano et al, 2014). Compared to diesel engines, fuel cells have higher energy efficiency, especially at part-load.…”

Application and Analysis of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells in Ship Energy Systems

“…A conceptual design of the SOFC for a 250 kW CHP (Combine heat and power) application [10], has spurred the group of authors to develop a hybrid system with diesel engines and two SOFCs to produce electricity on supplier vessels [11].…”