US-headed Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc., an innovation-driven leader in the fuel cell and hydrogen technology sectors, has announced that it will collaborate with Sweden-headed Alfa Laval AB, a global provider of heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling products, on a Danish project to explore applications of Advent’s methanol-powered high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells in the marine industry.
Funded by the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), the project is a joint effort between Advent, Alfa Laval, and a group of Danish shipowners.
The project will focus on testing Advent’s methanol-powered HT-PEM fuel cells as a source of marine auxiliary power.
During the course of the project, the fuel cell system will undergo a risk assessment by a leading international classification society.
The Advent team is dedicated to accelerating the decarbonization of the shipping industry. Our Serene fuel cells run on methanol – a clean alternative to fossil fuels – which is safer to handle than hydrogen gas and can be easily deployed on-site, commented Dr Vasilis Gregoriou, Chairman and CEO of Advent Technologies.
Next-generation fuel cells
At the same time, the project aims to integrate the next generation of Advent’s fuel cells.
These fuel cells will be based on its next-generation membrane electrode assembly, which is currently being developed within the framework of L’Innovator, the Company’s joint development program with the US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Over the past months, we have received significant interest from the marine industry for our methanol-powered fuel cells. This gives us optimism about the future and our contribution to the industry’s goal of net zero by 2050. We look forward to the successful completion of this highly innovative EUDP-funded project and further progressing our collaboration with Alfa Laval, Dr Vasilis Gregoriou said.
Aiming to meet the ever-growing power requirements of the maritime industry, Advent’s next-generation fuel cells are expected to demonstrate a significant increase in lifetime, efficiency, and electrical output.
On-demand power
Advent’s technology enables its fuel cells to operate at high temperatures of between 160 °C and 220 °C and serve as a reliable source of on-demand power across various applications and industries, including shipping, power generation, and heavy-duty mobility.
The Company’s HT-PEM technology can utilize low-cost and abundant hydrogen-carrier fuels, like methanol, e-methanol, and biomethanol.
We are excited to see the result of this promising collaboration with Advent, an experienced partner with innovative fuel cell products deployed in the field today. We are convinced that HT-PEM technology has great maritime potential and look forward to further exploring Advent’s differentiated technology as the marine industry moves towards decarbonization, said Jeroen van Riel, Business Development Manager for Marine Energy Solutions at Alfa Laval.
Methanol in particular has attracted substantial interest as a future fuel for the marine industry, and Advent says that its HT-PEM fuel cells “operate perfectly” on methanol, using an integrated reformer.
We would like to thank Alfa Laval for their commitment to partnering with our extensive expertise and proprietary technology to drive a maritime fuel cell solution. The Advent team envisions methanol, biomethanol, and e-methanol as the fuels of the future in shipping. We are delighted that Alfa Laval endorses this view. We hope this project is the dawn of a long and productive collaboration that will enable a faster transition to a clean energy shipping sector, ended Morten Hougaard Sørensen, SVP Advent Technologies.
