Ricardo takes steps forward in maritime decarbonisation

Ricardo’s hydrogen fuel cell module has reached its full electrical power potential of 393kW after just three months.

Energy consultant company, Ricardo, has announced advancements within its hydrogen fuel cell technology, which is set to support maritime decarbonisation.

Ricardo announced its fuel cell module has reached its full potential of 393kW of net electrical power, carrying a power density of 146 kWe/m3 and 4.0 kg/kWe.

This announcement forms part of the Sustainable Hydrogen Powered Shipping (sHYpS) Horizon Europe project, which aims to accelerate the use of hydrogen in the maritime sector.

As stated by Ricardo, this achievement was fulfilled within three months of development from initial start-up.

Andy Ennever, Ricardo Global Head of Fuel Cells highlighted how this was an important moment for the company and critical for the hydrogen ecosystem.

Ennever said: “By reaching this milestone and completing a full transient ship operation test cycle, our multi-stack hydrogen fuel cell technology demonstrates hydrogen’s potential as a clean energy source.

“It also showcases Ricardo’s expertise in designing and engineering the fuel cell module entirely in-house within the timeframe set out by Horizon Europe and achieving sustained maximum power after just three months of development after the initial switch-on.”

Integrating multiple fuel cell stacks, the design is set to provide “unmatched power, density and scalability”.

Ricardo’s virtual engineering toolchain, was a key part of the process, reducing physical prototyping costs and risks while providing a “deeper understanding of system behaviours under diverse conditions”.

Alongside, Ricardo’s fuel cell development the sHYpS project aims to design an integrated hydrogen logistics network and feature a demonstration on a hybrid cruise ship in 2025.