On-board fuel cell power supply for sailing yachts

At the Centre for Fuel Cell Technology (Zentrum für BrennstoffzellenTechnik/ZBT GmbH) in Duisburg/Germany a 300 W fuel cell system of liquid gas-powered operation is currently being developed with focus on leisure boats. An excellent infrastructure in the domain of recreational activities is available for this fuel and users are familiar with the safe handling of liquid gas. On sailing yachts the consumption of electrical power is very restricted during long cruises because of low battery capacities. In this case an additional power supply based on the noiseless fuel cell technology promises an essential comfort increase without disturbing emissions. ZBT's engineers combined their experience in system simulation, reactor design for the gas process and fuel cell technology with the aim of developing a user friendly fuel cell product.