Life cycle assessment of a hydrogen and fuel cell ropax ferry prototype

Abstract

Estimates for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by maritime transportation account for approx. 870 million tonnes of CO2 tonnes in 2018, increasing the awareness of the public in general and requiring the development of alternative propulsion systems and fuels to reduce them. In this context, the project HySeas III is developing a hydrogen and fuel cell powered roll-on/roll off and passenger ferry intended for the crossing between Kirkwall and Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands in Scotland, a region which currently has an excess of wind and tidal power. In order to explore the environmental aspects of this alternative, a life cycle assessment from cradle to end-of-use using the ReCiPe 2016 method was conducted, contrasting the proposed prototype developed within the project against a conventional diesel ferry and a diesel hybrid ferry. The results show that the use of hydrogen derived from wind energy and fuel cells for ship propulsion allow the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of up to 89% compared with a conventional diesel ferry. Additional benefits are lower stratospheric ozone depletion, ionizing radiation, ozone formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification and use of fossil resources. In turn, there is an increase in other impact categories when compared with diesel electric and diesel battery electric propulsion. Additionally, the analysis of endpoint categories shows less impact in terms of damage to human health, to the ecosystems and to resource availability for the hydrogen alternative compared to conventional power trains.