PFF 2021 conference review

MEPC FUEL CELL GUIDELINES SET STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRY

The latest MEPC provisional guidelines for fuel cells has been announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The guidelines will have an important part to play as the industry looks to adopt fuel cells for powering vessels in the future, writes Samantha Fisk

The IMO comments that the draft interim guidelines will be forwarded to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) for approval at its 105th session, scheduled to meet in April 2022.

“The development of these interim guidelines for safety of ships using fuel cells is part of the important work being carried out by the Sub-Committee in the context of shipping's need for new fuels and propulsion systems to meet decarbonisation ambitions set out in the Initial IMO GHG Strategy,” comments Natasha Brown, Acting Head, Public information Services, IMO.

The guidelines look to set the foundation for the implementation of fuel cells onboard vessels which will be an important factor for requirements such as safety. Kristian Eikeland Holmefjord, Executive Vice President & Project Director – Fuel Cells, Corvus explains that: “The guidelines are aiding in the direction of standardisation and scaling up the fuel cell industry to the marine market. The guidelines compiles knowledge of fuel cells across the industry and simplifies the transition to a more sustainable marine industry.”

DNV also highlights the latest guidelines also do not cover the use of hydrogen with fuel cells at the moment, which is something that needs to be considered when looking at hybrid powered vessel. Olaf Drews, Head of Machinery and Piping Systems, DNV also comments that at present the International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF) code only covers LNG. However, The Motorship notes that a workplan for the development of guidelines for the safety of ships using hydrogen as a fuel was agreed at the seventh session of the Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC7), and the task had been allocated to an intersessional correspondence group reporting to CC8.

Drews notes that benefits of having these guidelines will make it “easier for all parties” and will also allow for a “technical status quo” for the industry. Currently, fuels that aren’t covered by the IGF code means that vessels designed to operate with these fuels “have to show to the flag state that it has the equivalent safety levels of a conventional ship, this is demonstrated according to the so-called alternative design approach,” he says. The guidelines will also help with ensuring the safe practices of using fuel cells and will be a “big benefit of having technical guidance of how to bring fuel cells onboard.”

In addition, Arild Eiken, Chief Technology and Project Officer, Head of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, TECO2030 highlights that: “The guidelines will be an indication of how the final regulations will be, which in turn will enable industrial actors to standardise the solutions and carry out projects more quickly and economically.”

Developments are already underway in the industry to develop fuel cells with small scale projects under development, mainly in Norway. The developments that are undergoing are starting to show how fuel cells can be utilised for larger applications.

“We are seeing the change from small pilot-projects showing fuel cells can function in marine, to large scale industrialisation of fuel cells and it’s required fuel. The guidelines are of great aid to that industrialisation, and a guideline is seldom set in stone, so it doesn’t hinder the development much since when a better and safer solution is developed, the guidelines are adapted to ensure that the best solutions are utilised over time,” comments Holmefjord.

DNV also highlights that it is seeing increased

8 Kristian Eikeland

Holmefjord, EVP & Project Director – Fuel Cells at Corvus (second from left, pictured with fellow members of Corvus’ management team for the marine fuel cell development project)

developments for fuel cell application, but also notes that the developments are also being prompted from land-based industries that are working on developing maritime solutions. DNV is currently in contact with ten manufacturers that are looking to put systems through Type Approval.

Holmefjord comments that Corvus is working to develop safe marine fuel cell systems that can easily be integrated into ships. “In that respect we collaborate closely with class societies such as DNV, flag states such as NMA and are also active members in NEK (Norwegian Electro-Technical Committee) in group 105 who is supporting the IEC-standards for fuel cells. (NEK is a national group under IEC). We will have a mass-producible type-approved full cell system for marine by DNV at the end of 2023,” he says.

TECO2030 is developing several fuel cell solutions, Eiken comments about the guidelines that: “where guidelines mean that everyone involved will benefit from them both in terms of the financial aspect and the safety aspect.”

TECO2030 may also be leading the way when it comes to fuel cells with its recent announcement at the beginning of October that it has received Approval in Principle by DNV for its Marine Hydrogen Fuel Cell System and Fuel Cell Module FCM400. In its announcement the company highlight that the Approval in Principle confirms that the design is feasible and that there are no obstacles that could prevent the solution from being realised.

“For novel technologies, like fuel cells, having class involvement can be vital in building market confidence. We are continually working to provide practical solutions to enable their uptake and were the first classification society to publish rules for fuel cells in 2008,” says Drews.

As Drews highlights in his comment building up the industries confidence in the technology will be the next step if fuel Cells are to be a viable solution in the future. He comments that: “It is important for the shipowners to get experience and to get more familiar with the technology.” Although, he opines that fuels cells may not come on to the market for the next decade as other solutions are adopted, it is this time where shipowners will need to analyse the technology and how to implement it for the future.

Corvus is also looking to scale up its developments, Holmefjord comments that it is currently looking to: “Prepare for major scale-up in all parts of the value chain. From the Corvus-side we will ensure that we scale up the availability of marine fuel cell systems, and then the other aspects, such as fuel infrastructure, logistics, storage solutions and cost of energy is important aspects in the full picture of transitioning to a sustainable marine industry.”

However, there still needs to be more development around the guidelines for different fuels that may be available in the future. The industry is still looking at different fuel options that will help it cut emissions and fuel cells look to offer a hybrid solution for those fuels.

Eiken comments that for TECO2030: “The next steps for us who work with hydrogen and fuel cells, will be to establish state / international schemes and tools that temporarily sponsor and promote hydrogen technology both in terms of production, storage and distribution as well as fabrication and use of fuel cells. Furthermore, land-based infrastructure and bunkering stations must be established, where rules & regulations must be completed both for landbased applications and for maritime / offshore applications.”

TECO2030 has also announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) to cooperate on enhancing research and education in Norway on hydrogen and fuel cells. TECO 2030 and UiT will together identify and cooperate on creating hydrogen-related projects for marine and land-based applications. They will jointly conduct research projects and they will cooperate on increasing the efficiency of the fuel cell production equipment at the TECO 2030 Innovation Centre.

Drews concludes that with these developments the most important factor to consider when looking at these different fuels with fuel cells is the safety aspect. “There needs to be further regulations for hydrogen and ammonia and the industry needs further experience to help safely establish this technology more broadly.”

Meeting the environmental regulations to cut emissions in the future is a challenge in the industry. To make fuel cells more accessible in the market may require a shift in thinking about this technology and to start to look at the benefits that it can bring. There are projects that are starting to develop fuel cells for the maritime industry with this looking to be applied to larger industry applications. The guidelines that will be put forward to the MEPC in April set a good foundation for the industry to utilise fuel cell technology in the future.

8 Olaf Drews, Head

of Machinery and Piping Systems, DNV

Draft interim guidelines

Draft interim guidelines are aimed at providing international standard provisions for ships using fuel cell power installations that have been agreed by IMO's SubCommittee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC 7).

The draft interim guidelines are intended to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of electrical and/or thermal energy through the use of fuel cell technology. Specific issues covered include:

Safety

The draft guidelines included a requirement for fuel cell power systems to shut down automatically if temperatures exceed 300 degrees C or a pre-determined gas concentration. The shutdown requirements include isolation and de-energising of the affected fuel stack.

The safety requirements also stipulate that electrical equipment and wiring should be suitable for use in hazardous Zone I areas. The draft guidelines also specified SOLAS II-2 fire safety provisions should apply to fuel cell space. Exceptions provided for under A-60 class divisions were included.

Fire and explosion protection

It was agreed to allow two gas detectors which would lead to an alarm or shutdown, in line with redundancy requirements in the IGF Code’s “monitoring of gas supply system to engines” clause. Requirements on gas accumulation probabilities will be reviewed in light of practical experience gained through the application of the interim guidelines in practice.

Temperature monitoring and alarm requirements were agreed in relation to the 300 degree fuel stack surface threshold.

Lower explosive limit (LEL) for hydrogen

The guidelines noted that while fuel cell spaces would be ventilated or inerted in practice, hydrogen leaks from fuel cells were likely to pose a threat to safety. A definition for lower explosive limit was agreed and maximum thresholds of 20% (for gas alarm limits) and 25% (for ventilation requirement limits) were established.