A group of maritime players from Denmark and Sweden including Alfa Laval, DTU Energy, Haldor Topsoe, Svitzer and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have entered into a joint project to accelerate the development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology.

The SOFC4Maritime project is funded by a grant from the  Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program, and it will target optimal utilisation of future green fuels via the application of SOFCs for power production on marine vessels.

The partners claim SOFCs can potentially produce power with higher efficiency than internal combustion engines running on the same fuel without creating polluting emissions or particulates, and ammonia-based SOFCs are especially attractive since ammonia can be produced in large scale using renewable electricity and no biomass resource.

Alfa Laval will head the development initiative. Haldor Topsoe will provide the underlying SOFC stack technology, while DTU Energy will support in system layout and component testing. Svitzer will bring a shipowner perspective and the Mærsk McKinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping will ensure a broad industry overview, end-to-end analysis of various energy pathways and a detailed techno-economic analysis.

“Addressing shipping’s environmental challenges – and climate change in particular – will require a diverse range of strong technologies. By partnering with fellow marine industry experts, we can investigate the possibilities and bring them to fruition in time to make a difference,” said Sameer Kalra, president of Alfa Laval’s marine division.

“We are eager to pursue this project, which will provide essential information and enhance the feasibility of future pathways to zero carbon shipping based on SOFCs,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.