On the one hand, the pressure of carbon emission reduction in the shipbuilding industry is increasing day by day; on the other hand, the application scenarios of hydrogen energy ships are emerging, and the global R&D process of hydrogen fuel cell ships is accelerating.
At present, China is in the initial exploration stage in the field of hydrogen fuel cell ships, and there have been sporadic demonstration projects, such as the 2000-ton hydrogen fuel cell self-unloading ship independently researched and developed by * * * in 2019, and the fuel cell yacht "Lihu" led by the New Energy Ship Power Technology Research Institute of Dalian Maritime University this year. Under the vision of "carbon neutrality", the shipping industry is responsible for the pressure of emission reduction. As one of the solutions to achieve the emission reduction target of the shipping industry, the promotion and application of hydrogen ships are expected.
Shipping emission reduction pressure
Hydrogen energy may become a breakthrough.
"Transport ships have serious pollution caused by large fuel consumption and emissions, and the market demand for hydrogen fuel cell ships is very promising." An industry expert engaged in ship power research.
According to the data of the International Maritime Organization, the global shipping industry's greenhouse gas emissions account for about 2.5% of the world's total emissions, and the pressure of pollution control and transition to more sustainable energy in the shipping industry is increasing. According to the analysis of the International Energy Agency, in 2019, international ocean transportation accounted for about 2% of carbon dioxide emissions in the global energy industry. With the increase of global freight volume, the direct carbon dioxide emissions from global ocean transportation activities have risen sharply in the past 10 years. Therefore, it is still a great challenge for the shipping industry to achieve emission reduction targets.
To deal with the pollution of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted by ships to urban air. In recent years, policies and measures on ship emission reduction have been introduced one after another, such as the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Marine Environment Pollution from Ships and the Implementation Plan of Air Pollutant Emission Control Zones from Ships, etc., and the Implementation Plan of Global Sulfur Restriction Order for Marine Fuel in 2020 has been formulated and released.
Faced with the imminent pressure of environmental protection and emission reduction, traditional heavy industries, automobiles and other fields are actively promoting the transformation of clean energy. As a major polluter of pollution, transportation ships also speed up their pace and choose fuel cell ships as a breakthrough.
Policy continues to increase
Global R&D acceleration
On the one hand, the pressure of ship emission reduction is increasing day by day; on the other hand, there are many calls for the replacement of hydrogen-powered ships. In the hydrogen energy development plans formulated by the state and local governments, the proportion of hydrogen fuel cell ship applications is also increasing.
The development of hydrogen ships in China has been supported by national policies. In June, 2020, the notice issued by the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China on the Outline of Inland Shipping Development clearly stated that it was encouraged to explore and develop power ships such as pure electric power and fuel cells, and to study and promote the application of solar energy, wind energy and hydrogen energy in the industry.
Local governments, especially the cities near the river and the sea, are speeding up the application and promotion of hydrogen ships. In March, 2020, Guangdong's "Maoming Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Plan (Draft for Comment)" clearly put forward the application of pilot fuel cells in industrial power generation, cogeneration and shipbuilding. In December, 2020, Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province officially issued the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry in Zhoushan City, proposing to explore and build a hydrogen energy offshore supply chain with the characteristics of marine hydrogen energy demonstration applications such as ships, marine transportation and port logistics.
Around the world, many countries and enterprises will promote the decarbonization process of shipbuilding industry as an important means to achieve climate goals.
In fact, as early as 2018, ABB, the global technology giant, and SINTEF Ocean, the Norwegian marine science and technology research center, had cooperated in researching the marine fuel cell project and testing the technical feasibility of hydrogen fuel cell. In February this year, Ballard announced that he would cooperate with Australia Compressed Natural Gas Company to develop a new fuel cell powered ship named C-H2 Ship. Recently, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and KR will jointly formulate the world's first international standard for hydrogen ships, in order to "respond to the arrival of the era of hydrogen ships in advance."
"Fuel cell embarkation is a research hotspot at home and abroad at present, but at present, hydrogen fuel cell boats launched at home and abroad are still in the experimental stage. As far as the current research status is concerned, fuel cell embarkation must be used in conjunction with lithium batteries, and cannot be used alone." The above-mentioned industry experts said.
"The technical content of marine hydrogen fuel cells is easier. Compared with loading the maximum energy in a limited space in a vehicle, a ship with huge space will provide enough space for the installation of hydrogen fuel cells."
Technical reserve takes time.
Supporting standards should be advanced.
"It should be noted that ships have higher requirements for safety and reliability, so it is necessary to improve laws and regulations and train personnel. As the guarantee conditions are different from those of land vehicles, laws and regulations, technical standards, application and management all need to be established and improved."
At the same time, as a new energy technology, the popularization and application of hydrogen-powered ships are still facing many problems. According to the data, at present, China Maritime Safety Administration has not released the ships with hydrogen fuel cells as the main power source. Because of the subversive system changes and personnel training expenses, the economy of hydrogen-powered ships is still far behind that of fuel-powered ships.
"In addition, the requirements of supporting facilities for marine hydrogenation and vehicle hydrogenation are definitely different, and the marine standard will be stricter than the vehicle standard." Industry experts said.
Nevertheless, during the interview, I still felt the industry's optimism about the future development potential of hydrogen fuel cell ships. "At this stage, the development of hydrogen energy industry should be based on the development of fuel cell vehicles, and gradually extended to the fields of energy and industrial applications. The development of hydrogen fuel cell ships may need 3-5 years of technical reserves, and there will be related demonstration projects of hydrogen fuel cell ships during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. Because the hydrogen fuel cell ship needs a large stack power, the development of hydrogen energy ship can also drive the development of liquid hydrogen industry and promote the development of stack technology and liquid hydrogen storage and transportation facilities. "