Canada eyes fuel cells for Coast Guard vessels
The Canadian federal government is considering using hydrogen fuel cells in three new Coast Guard offshore fisheries science vessels to be stationed on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, the Canadian Press reports.
The government says it plans to spend about $338,000 to look into hybrid diesel-fuel cell technology with the intent of installing 1,500 kW hydrogen fuel cells.
Zuomin Dong, a professor in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Victoria, said the technology could make the vessels less polluting, particularly when they are operating at less than full power as they enter a port, but he also said the costs of the fuel cells could be prohibitively high—more than $6 million for each fuel cell system.
Construction on the 55-metre ships, which will replace four aging coast guard vessels, is scheduled to begin next year in the Seaspan Marine Corp. shipyard in Vancouver.
The government's tender said its plan is to award the contract to Ontario-based Alion Science and Technology Canada.
Fuel cell technology promises to reduce emissions and fuel use, but it has not yet become viable for wide use.
One early adopter exploring the technology, Det Norske Veritas, installed a 330 kW fuel cell on offshore supply vessel Viking Lady, designed by Wärtsilä, as part of the joint industry project FellowSHIP.
