ABB Marine and Ports to build hydrogen-powered inland towboat

ABB Marine and Ports have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maritime Partners (MP) LLC, Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) and e1 Marine for developing a hydrogen-powered inland towboat.

It will be operational in the US. It will be an ultra-low emission, long-range towboat which could run for many days between fueling.

The project will be the first fuel cell-powered towboat in the USA, with an eco-friendly workboat. The company will provide the full electrical propulsion power plant with power and energy management, automation and integrated fuel cell and battery power.

The Hydrogen One towboat of 27 meter long is to deploy on 14,500 miles of waterway from the Port of New Orleans along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

It can travel for four days at 6 miles per hour, covering a distance of 550 miles. It can generate up to 2,700 HP propulsion power, including 1,700 HP generated by the fuel cell and 1,000 by the battery.

The towboat can convert methanol to hydrogen, deploying a hydrogen generator by e1 Marine, which can convert a mixture of methanol and water to fuel cell grade high-purity hydrogen. This hydrogen will be used in the fuel cells to generate electricity.

The emissions are less than 80% carbon dioxide, as compared to electrolyser solution, which uses electrical power from fossil fuels.

ABB Marine and Ports will provide the full propulsion plant, including electric motors, transformers and integrated fuel cells and batteries. The Onboard DC Grid power distributor will ensure that the fuel cell and battery output is delivered to the towboat's subsystems.

The company's Power and Energy Management System (PEMS) will control the overall power setup of the towboat. It will increase fault tolerance and provide a high degree of reliability and maximum lifetime for the batteries.

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Also read: Scientists develop reactor to make hydrogen via sustainable sources

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