Future Proof Shipping (FPS) is pleased to officially appoint Koedood Marine Group as their chosen supplier for the provision of a complete PEM Fuel Cell system to retrofit their inland container vessel the Maas to hydrogen power. The system supplied by Koedood will comprise fuel cell stacks and technology from Nedstack fuel cell technology.

The FPS team has led and guided the vessel’s zero-emissions retrofit design in close cooperation with Koedood, Nedstack, the shipyard and their other main suppliers. Sealing their commitment this month, FPS gave the green light to Holland Shipyards Group (HSG) to procure the complete PEM Fuel Cell system from Koedood.

Koedood will build three fuel cell units (3x 275kW) and subcontract their partner company and stack provider of choice, Nedstack, to supply the fuel cell stacks for each of the fuel cell units as part of their co-development partnership for inland navigation. During the retrofit later this year, HSG will install the fuel cell units onboard the Maas. The 110m x 11.45m inland container vessel will be retrofitted at their yard in Hardinxveld in 2021and is planned to be zero-emissions and hitting the water 100% on hydrogen power by the end of this year.
PEM Fuel Cells

The PEM fuel cell system is necessary for converting hydrogen into electricity and will be installed in the cargo space of the Maas. The fuel cell system is triple redundant with 825 kW capacity to supply propulsion and auxiliary power.
Proton Exchange Membrane or PEM fuel cells are considered to be the most versatile type of fuel cells currently in production. They produce the most power for a given weight or volume of fuel cell, they are also lightweight with a high power-density and cold-start capability.

In a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen react in an electro-chemical manner to produce an electric current, pure water and heat.
The Partnership

“The maritime knowledge and expertise of the Koedood group, together with the fuel cell capabilities of Nedstack provide us with an optimised product we can be confident in. It helps that we are all on the same page – collaborating to create a more sustainable future for the inland waterways in Europe.” Fokke van der Veen, Director Operations – Future Proof Shipping.

“Adding marine certified hydrogen fuel cell systems to our hybrid ship propulsion capabilities did not come easily. We are proud to take this next step with FPS and spearhead hydrogen technology into the maritime domain. With our can-do attitude we are confident there will be more vessels to follow soon.” Gertjan de Gelder, Sales Manager – Koedood Marine Group
Post retrofit, the Maas will carry on shipping container cargo between Rotterdam and an inland terminal near Antwerp and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2000 CO2e tonnes annually.
Source: Future Proof Shipping (FPS)