Alsterwasser gets a second chance
The world’s first hybrid fuel cell propulsion passenger ship, Alsterwasser, is back in service on Hamburg’s rivers after being out of action for more than a year because of a fire.
The 25.56m long, 5.2m wide excursion boat, which carries 100 passengers, first went into operation in 2008 with ATG Alster-Touristik following completion by the local SSB Shipyard in Oortkaten. Its innovative fuel cell system had a total output of 100 kW, enabling the boat to cruise at 15 kms/h.
The interior of Alsterwasser was gutted from stem to stern when a fire broke out on the boat during a test run in April 2010 after maintenance work at the yard. It has since been almost completely rebuilt.
An ATG spokeswoman told this correspondent last July that the ship’s innovative fuel cell system was not responsible for the blaze and that has since been confirmed by an investigation into the accident.
The onboard lead acid batteries were said to have been wrongly connected and they overheated, causing a fire in the battery compartment. The fire was said to be comparable to a conventional cable fire and the hybrid fuel cell system was not involved. There was a report that ATG was seeking to recover the €400,000 cost of the repairs from the battery manufacturers.
Nine partners were involved in the AlsterwasserZEMSHIPS (Zero Emission Ships) fuel cell propulsion project, headed by Hamburg’s Ministry of Urban Affairs and Environment. It started in 2006 and had a budget of €5.5m, of which €2.4m was put up by the European Union and the rest by its partners.
The aim was to research and develop commercial fuel cell propulsion systems which designers said were twice as energy efficient as conventional ships with diesel propulsion. The Berlin Government described the Alsterwasser project as “a milestone for the development of fuel cell technology for regular shipping service.”
By Tom Todd
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