Molten Carbonate – Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle

High-temperature (600-700C) molten carbonate fuel cells are more applicable for systems that run for extended periods of time without frequent start and stop cycles. They have found application in distributed power generation applications. The high temperature allows them to operate with a variety of primary fuels with a reformer, thus offering simplified operation on fossil and renewable fuels.

They can have large modules (up to 500 kW of power) and have a good lifetime (on the order of 50,000 hours). Their typical electrical efficiency is around 50% and this can be optimized to 85% with heat recovery (Source).

Further improvements in power density may be required to facilitate the use of MCFCs for larger vessels.

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MCFC fuel cells are being developed and tested:

• Large prototype tested on-board the offshore supply vessel “Viking Lady” https://www.wartsila.com/marine/customer-segments/references/offshore/viking-lady
• MC-WAP Project (Fincantieri), MCFC fuelled by diesel https://emsa.europa.eu/publications/reports/item/2921-emsa-study-on-the-use-of-fuel-cells-in-shipping.html

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