In the maritime sector, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a GHG reduction strategy in 2018, aiming to achieve zero emissions from international marine transportation as early as possible in this century. In addition, efforts to reduce NOx emissions from ships in urban areas, environmentally protected areas and large ports especially in Europe and the U.S. are gathering pace. In response to these movements, there are several projects that plan to build hydrogen fuel cell powered ships going into service in early 2020s. Also, several companies have announced their development and commercialization plans of maritime hydrogen fuel cell systems which adapt to the operating conditions and rules of ships. YANMAR has been working for the government-funded projects related to maritime fuel cells as well as shore-to-ship hydrogen refueling, and recently developed the hydrogen fuel cell demonstration boat with marinized TOYOTA MIRAI fuel cell units and hydrogen tanks. This article describes general requirements for hydrogen fuel cells to be applied for ships as well as maritime hydrogen fuel cells related activities in YANMAR.
