Yanmar Holdings and its subsidiary, Yanmar Power Technology, carried out a field demonstration test of a maritime hydrogen fuel cell system in Oita, Japan, on March 24.
Environmental marine regulations are being tightened and overhauled worldwide in response to the International Maritime Organization’s 2018 announcement that it aims to reduce maritime greenhouse gas emissions to zero as soon as possible in this century.
In December 2020, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released details of its Green Growth Strategy Towards 2050 Carbon Neutrality, highlighting several energy and power sources that could reduce the carbon footprint of maritime operations, including ships already powered by hydrogen or ammonia.
Following these announcements, Yanmar developed a dual-fuel marine engine, making it one of the first marine businesses to comply with new environmental rulings. The company has also developed a fuel cell system that uses hydrogen fuel cell modules from the Toyota MIRAI vehicle, which has been integrated into Yanmar’s own EX38A FC pleasure boat that is set for field trials.
The EX38A FC is the first vessel to comply with hydrogen fuel cell safety guidelines set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan. Yanmar says that it plans to scale up the fuel cell system by connecting multiple units, with the goal of integrating these into larger vessels by 2025.