August 2018 Volume 10 Issue 4 Electronic Newsletter A ferry that runs on hydrogen fuel The planned vessel, named Water-Go-Round, would carry cells is coming to San Francisco 84 passengers and stretch 70 feet long. Construction is expected to start early this fall in Alameda, California, and the vessel is slated to hit the water a year later. The project is one of myriad efforts by cities in the U.S. and globally to clean up their passenger ships. While fer- ries contribute a relatively small slice of total maritime air pollution and carbon emissions, they typically operate around densely populated areas, where emissions are known to pose the biggest health threats. Ferries, tug boats, and other harbor craft can be particu- larly dirty because they often use the same inefficient en- gines for decades, said Christina Wolfe, who manages the Environmental Defense Fund’s air quality program for After Tom Escher took over his family’s century-old ferry ports. “They’re old, high-horsepower, and high-usage, company in 1997, he wanted to buy a zero-emissions and that just makes a recipe for very high emissions,” she vessel that could whisk tourists around San Francisco said of ferry engines. without spewing harmful pollutants. Escher, who is 71, said he worried about the health of his four grandchil- Some local officials are considering more straightforward dren and the environment they’d live in. solutions, like installing efficient Tier 4 diesel engines or adding onshore electricity supplies, so boats can turn off “Our boats were getting greener, and we were cleaning their engines while at port. Other places are taking a up, but I said, ‘Are we doing the best we can?’” Escher more ambitious tack: In rural Alabama, the Gee’s Bend recalled. Ferry operators are replacing John Deere engines with a A few years ago, he began searching in earnest for a fos- battery-electric propulsion system, which will make it sil fuel-free ship, but he quickly hit a wall. Even as bat- the first zero-emissions ferry of its kind in the United tery-powered cars and rooftop solar panels proliferated States. A ferry in Skagit County, Washington, may soon on land, the maritime industry had been slow to embrace follow suit. clean energy at sea. The Water-Go-Round hydrogen ferry is also representa- An innovative ferry project could soon change that. tive of a larger push by the global shipping industry to clean up dirty fuel-burning ships. In April, the Internation- On Monday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) al Maritime Organization adopted a landmark deal to re- announced a $3 million grant to help build a hydrogen duce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, a policy that fuel cell ferry. Once built, it would be be the first of its will require a massive uptake of zero-emissions vessels. kind in the United States, and the first commercial hydro- gen fuel cell ferry in the world. Continued on page 3 Contact Us: IAHE, 5794 SW 40 St. #303, Miami, FL 33155, USA Any questions on the E-Newsletter or IAHE? Email Matthew Mench at [email protected] Table of Contents IAHE’s Data Point…………………………………...…………………………………………………………………………………………...……….4 Vehicle News..…………………………………………....…………………………………………………….……………………….…….…...………5 News of Interest…………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………….…………..….…17 IJHE Highlights…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..…….27 IJHE Highlights of Publications……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…...28 From the Bookshelf…...………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..29 Research Lab Highlight…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…………...30 Upcoming Meetings & Activities…………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….....50 Get Connected……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………....51 Contacts and Information…..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….…52 Newsletter Production Published by IAHE through The University of Tennessee Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering Department 414 Dougherty Engineering Building Knoxville, TN 37996 Editor-in-Chief Dr. Matthew M. Mench, Head and Professor Designer/Editor Kathy Williams Writers /Contributors Yasser Ashraf Gandomi and Cyrus Daugherty IAHE Objective The objective of the IAHE is to advance the day when hydrogen energy will become the principal means by which the world will achieve its long-sought goal of abundant clean energy for mankind. Toward this end, the IAHE stimulates the exchange of information in the hydrogen energy field through its publications and sponsorship of international workshops, short courses, symposia, and conferences. In addition, the IAHE endeavors to inform the general public of the important role of hydrogen energy in the planning of an inexhaustible and clean energy system. Get Connected with IAHE International International Association for Association for Hydrogen Energy Hydrogen Energy 2 Continued from page 1 ship’s operations, performance, and maintenance. Passenger ships are often first to deploy cutting-edge The $3 million CARB grant is part of California’s larger $20 ship technologies because they consume far less fuel and million investment in zero-emissions off-road demonstra- power than ocean-going vessels. Ferries typically keep tion projects. The funding comes from revenues raised by close to shore, making it easier to recharge batteries or the state’s cap-and-trade program. Water-Go-Round’s refill hydrogen tanks. And ferry operators face strong partners have committed another $2.5 million to help public pressure to clean up because they carry throngs of launch the vessel. passengers who—unlike lifeless box containers—inhale the diesel fumes, hear the growling engines, and see the The planned ferry would carry onboard storage tanks with noxious black plumes rising from exhaust funnels. enough hydrogen to last about two days before a truck refuels them at port. Lithium-ion batteries and electric A boat like Water-Go-Round won’t have such concerns. motors will round out the ship’s power system. Pratt said the goal is to use green hydrogen supplies when possible. Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce elec- tricity. Unlike diesel engines, they don’t emit any carbon Marine fuel cells face several hurdles to wider adoption. dioxide or health-threatening pollutants — only a little The technology is still relatively expensive, and shipbuild- heat and water vapor. “I’m going to drink the exhaust,” ers and maritime officials in many places may be less fa- pledged Escher, who is investing in the new ferry, in addi- miliar with hydrogen than, say, batteries. If successful, a tion to operating it. project like Water-Go-Round could nevertheless drive in- terest in fuel cells and hydrogen—particularly where offi- Hydrogen itself isn’t always “zero-emissions.” The most cials or companies are seeking to curb maritime pollution, common methods for producing hydrogen today require said Alan Lloyd, the former secretary of California’s Envi- fossil fuels—and thus result in some greenhouse gases. ronmental Protection Agency. But more facilities are starting to produce “green” hydro- gen with renewable electricity or biogas. “People are going to want to follow that lead,” said Lloyd, a senior research fellow at the University of Texas at Aus- The idea to build Water-Go-Round came from an exten- tin’s Energy Institute. sive 2016 study by Sandia National Labs. Researchers es- tablished that a high-speed passenger ferry powered by A similar narrative is already playing out with battery- hydrogen fuel cells was feasible from a technical, regula- powered ferries, after Norway launched a fully electric car tory, and economic perspective. Around two dozen early ferry in 2015. ship projects already deploy the technology, primarily in Europe. Dan Berentson, the director of public works in Skagit County, in northwest Washington, said his team is closely Joseph Pratt, who co-authored the Sandia study, is now following developments in Scandinavia, where more elec- the CEO of Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, one of tric ferries are expected to ply the fjords. Skagit County several partners in the CARB grant project. officials are now hoping to build their own electric boat to replace their county’s clunky 39-year-old ferry. If all goes “We’re at the point where we’ve studied it enough, we’ve to plan, it could launch in 2020. figured out how you can do it,” Pratt said from San Fran- cisco. “Now we just have to do it.” “Our hope is that the industry will embrace this,” Beren- tson said. The plan is for Escher’s company, Red and White Fleet, to operate the vessel for the first three months—and even- Source: https://grist.org/article/a-ferry-that-runs-on- tually buy it to add to its fleet. Meanwhile, scientists at hydrogen-fuel-cells-is-coming-to-san-francisco/ Sandia and CARB are expected to collect data on the 3 H IAHE’s Data Point Emissions Produced from Transportation 4 Vehicle News Toyota sends the world’s first hydrogen- A northern European tour is scheduled for next year, in- powered ship on a six-year voyage cluding the UK. The crew aims to reach Tokyo in 2020, in time for the Olympic Games. The ship is captained by professional racer Victorien Erussard, accompanied by leader of exploration Jérôme Delafosse, a deep-sea diver and filmmaker. During their journey, the team will produce documentary content about reliable energy sources. This will be broad- cast through an eight-episode series on French TV net- work Planète+ and as a web series shared on social me- dia. "Energy Observer is a conversion that has a double