The intent of the FellowShip Project is to address the continuing use of fossil fuel energy as global warming and climate change make sustainable development imperative. A shift to gas based fuels is an important environmental step as it allows independence from oil products and makes the use of fuel cell technology viable. Compared with conventional power producing machinery, fuel cells boost energy efficiency by up to 50%. Running on LNG or methanol, fuel cells eliminate emissions of NOx, SOx and particulates while cutting CO2 by up to 50%.

Eidesvik is already a pioneering ship owner. Its vessel ‘Viking Energy’, delivered in 2003, was the first platform support vessel in the world powered by LNG, reducing NOx emissions by 88% compared to diesel power and CO2 by 23%. ‘Viking Avant’, the European Ship of the Year in 2004, became the first supply ship to move the superstructure aft. This reduced movement, noise and vibrations in the living areas, giving a better, safer working environment for the crew. It is the next vessel to this design which will have LNG propulsion and incorporate the fuel cell.

The FellowShip Project aims to develop fuel cells in stand alone arrangements for auxiliary power on ships and also to integrate them with conventional machinery for main power generation. The newbuild will be the first to demonstrate large scale fuel cell systems for auxiliary power onboard a commercial ship. These new systems will enable current fuel cell technology to operate outside the stable network of land based power plants and pave the way for the use of hybrid AC/DC power in a maritime application, improving system electrical efficiency, reducing fuel consumption by up to 50%, and massively reducing atmospheric emissions.

MJ Information No: 22425