It sounds just too good to be true. Instead of a noisy, smelly, vibrating, polluting generator, you will be able to keep your boat batteries topped up with a quiet, safe and environmentally friendly fuel cell.
Instead of that high maintenance, heavy, old tech generator you will be able to have something that weighs less, requires almost no maintenance, and acts as a “fit and forget” battery charger - virtually the equivalent of being plugged into shore power while you are crossing oceans.
So what is a fuel cell? The power comes from combining hydrogen and oxygen, which creates water and energy - and almost no pollutants. Tomorrow's technology? No. It's already here. And it's about to become much more readily available.
Fuel cells were first used by NASA in space exploration 40 years ago. They have not made it into the mainstream until now because of the cost and the problems of using hydrogen as fuel: difficult to store and not without risk.
But now the cost and size of the “stack” (the part which combines the hydrogen and oxygen directly, without combustion) is coming down, and manufacturers have been quick to recognise the potential market for fuel cells on sailing yachts. Meanwhile scientists are developing ways of using safer fuels to provide the hydrogen.
Max Power already produces a Marine Fuel Cell, which produces 0.7kW, enough to run the electronics and fridge and lights etc on a mid sized cruising yacht. It runs on Methanol, which is not widely available, and is toxic.
Stephen Voller, founder of Voller Energy, believes that to be widely accepted by yachtsmen, fuel cells must run on fuels that are already available to them. Ultimately, he hopes to market fuel cells running on diesel, but says this is still some way off.
However, his company is on the point of delivering the first fuel cell running on LPG, easily available at every chandlery, and already used on most yachts for cooking.
Voller is installing a prototype - claimed to be the first 1kW fuel cell - on a Beneteau Oceanis 411 for testing and demonstration, and will launch the product on the market at the METS trade show in Amsterdam in November.
There has already been tremendous interest from the yachting world, and not surprisingly. For today's yachts are increasingly power hungry, as more and more electronics are used for navigation and entertainment, and bigger and bigger batteries are needed to power refrigeration, lighting, anchor windlasses and all the rest.
One of the great advantages of the fuel cell, says Stephen, is that it is more tolerant of heel than a generator, and because there is less to go wrong, better able to cope with the rigours of life afloat.
In fact, in every comparison with a generator, the fuel cell is better suited to the needs of the yachtsman. It is cleaner, greener and virtually silent. It looks after itself, producing power as and when it is required, and shutting down when it is not needed (when the engine is running, for example.)
It requires almost no maintenance, and is safer. It can be fitted afloat, as it does not need cooling water, whereas a generator must be installed while the boat is ashore, and requires additional skin fittings. A fuel cell is also lighter than a generator, and should cost slightly less to buy and fit.
Stephen Voller confidently predicts that the fuel cell will rapidly become almost standard equipment on boats and will “transform the way people sail.”
It will mean that, by using an inverter, “mains” AC power will be available and there will be no limit to the amount of electrical equipment that can be used on a boat. It should be possible to cross the Atlantic, for example, without having to worry about power consumption.
And whereas in every other fuel cell application the by-product of water goes to waste, on a yacht on a long passage, it would a valuable asset, perhaps making it unnecessary to install an expensive water maker.
You could even recycle the heat, too, either for air or water heating. Or, via a heat exchanger, use it for cooling the boat when in hot climates. It really does sound too good to be true. But it's a fair bet that it won't be long before it's everyday reality for many yachtsmen.
For more information visit www.max-power.com
and www.voller.com
