Hamburg—HADAG is preparing the Europe-wide tender for three new ships with the option of more at the beginning of the year. The planned new ferries are plug-in hybrid ships and are already designed for operation with hydrogen. The innovative ship concept was developed together with the company NaValue GmbH from Flensburg.
In the first step, the batteries of the ship are charged at night in order to be able to carry out as much of the operation as possible. Since the battery capacity will not be sufficient for the entire operation, a so-called range extender is necessary. This function is initially covered by a diesel generator, but can later be replaced by a fuel cell.
Michael Westhagemann, Senator for Economics, Transport, and Innovation: “We want to get more passengers to their destinations on the Elbe in an environmentally friendly way. To achieve this, we need three things: an innovative spirit, hydrogen, and ship capacity. That is exactly what we are implementing with this project. ”
Dr. Tobias Haack, HADAG board member: “With the invitation to tender, we are entering completely new territory, because there are as yet no comparable concepts for port ferries in Germany and Europe. The gradual development into an environmentally friendly fleet, together with the expansion of capacity, is a top priority for us. We are therefore looking forward to the offers for the tender. “
As soon as a permit for the operation with hydrogen is available, the new ferries are to be operated completely emission-free. In the course of the changeover, a fuel cell system will then be retrofitted. The hydrogen is to be stored in palletized compressed gas cylinders, which are brought onto the ship via loading ramps using a roll-on / roll-off principle. The bottles can, therefore, be exchanged empty for full, which makes complex refueling of the ship superfluous.
With the further development of the fleet strategy, HADAG is making its contribution to the goals of the climate plan of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Pioneering decisions for the development of a more environmentally friendly fleet have already been made in recent years. After the construction of the diesel-electric ships “Kehrwieder” and “Elbphilharmonie” and the retrofitting of the existing HADAG fleet with exhaust gas after-treatment systems, the next milestone is now with the tendering of the new buildings.
More capacity for the Hamburg cycle
The aim of the new ship concept was to avoid the pollution caused by ship emissions, especially greenhouse gases, as completely as possible. Due to the acute need for new ships – also against the background of the objectives of the Hamburg cycle – the described two-stage procurement process is used.
Efficiency was also a priority when designing the ship. At around 33 meters, the new HADAG ship will be longer than the previous ferries in order to reduce energy consumption. The boarding areas were also adapted to the increased passenger volume. This means that when boarding the passengers do not get directly into the interior or onto the outside stairs, but initially onto a large outside deck from which the flow of passengers can be distributed. This leads to faster entry and exit and thus also reduces fuel consumption. The new outer deck on the main deck is also ideal for carrying bicycles.
Read the most up to date Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry news at FuelCellsWorks
