New phase for fuel cell cruise ship project

The current project phase runs until the end of 2021 under the leadership of MEYER WERFT. In addition to the development of the fuel cells, the entire energy system and its onboard integration will also be investigated along with ecological and economic analyses.

In 2014 MEYER WERFT commissioned a fuel cell demonstrator on shore as part of its predecessor project, Pa-X-ell. Since 2016, MEYER WERFT has carried out a first test of fuel cells on board the Baltic Sea ferry Mariella. In the new project phase, the new fuel cells will be tested on the cruise ship AIDAnova, the first cruise ship in the world to operate completely on LNG.

Powered by hydrogen which is reformed from methanol, the fuel cell offers the possibility of even lower emission energy than is currently possible with LNG. After intensive tests on land, the fuel cells are to be tested for the first time in real operation on board AIDAnova from 2021 onwards.

The Pa-X-ell2 research project is part of the e4ships cluster, as is the RiverCell2 project, which is carried out to research fuel cells on board river cruise ships. The research projects belong to the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology and are funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

The consortium of eight now comprises MEYER WERFT, Lürssen Werft, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, DNV GL, the German Aerospace Center, AIDA Cruises represented by Carnival Maritime, Besecke Automation and EPEA.