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The joint industry project FellowSHIP has reached an 'important milestone' with the installation of a full scale fuel cell on board the supply vessel Viking Lady.

According to project partner DNV, the ship will be the first merchant vessel ever to test fuel cell technology for production of electricity on board.

The FellowSHIP project was initiated by DNV in 2003 with the objective of adapting fuel cell technology so that it can be used for the propulsion of vessels in the future. The fuel cell system now installed on Viking Lady has been tested onshore at Stord, Norway, for the past couple of months. Testing of the fuel cell will now be carried out at sea.

Groundbreaking fuel cell technology

After this week's installation experts will continue testing and examining whether or not fuel cell technologies have a viable future within shipping. DNV project manager Tomas Tronstad warns that there's a long way to go. "A lot of development still remains to be done, but I am convinced that fuel cells will have an important role in the future of shipping."

The project has developed a fuel cell power system rated at 320 kW. Fuel cell technology on this scale has never before been installed in merchant vessels, says DNV.

"The achievements of the project will include significantly reduced CO2 emissions, improved energy efficiency and zero emissions of harmful substances, when compared to conventional engine technology," DNV added.

Norwegian-German cooperation

The FellowSHIP project is a joint industry project managed by DNV. The fuel cell has been developed by MTU Onsite Energy GmbH. The supply vessel Viking Lady, which will be used as a test laboratory for the fuel cell is owned by Eidesvik. Wärtsilä Ship Design has designed and adapted the vessel, whilst Wärtsilä Norway has developed the necessary power electronics and control systems which connect the fuel cell to the electric grid on board the vessel.

DNV has approved the system considering all safety- and risk aspects of the installed equipment. The development of class rules for installation of fuel cells on board vessels has been an important part of the project.

The project is supported by the Norwegian Research Council, Innovation Norway and the German Federal Minestry of Economics and Technology