Green Technology Forum

Voller Energy, the UK based fuel cell specialists are leading the way in future yacht design with a concept yacht that is completely powered by fuel cell technology. Voller Energy teamed up with the internationally acclaimed yacht designer, Ken Freivokh to develop a ground breaking model and modern ‘way of working’ for future yacht design. This study concentrates on a 55 foot concept cruising yacht powered by a 5 kilowatt fuel cell. The Emerald fuel cell, manufactured by Voller Energy, is alternative green technology that can realistically replace the traditional diesel generator. The prototype yacht shows the way ahead in development and specification, integrating ethical, environmentally friendly design practices into the marine world. This is an important consideration in an industry reliant on people being able to enjoy their craft in clean, natural surroundings.

Ken Freivokh is the founding designer of Ken Freivokh Design. The company is the exclusive designer for many of the world’s most prestigious boat builders and also undertakes ‘one off’ projects including the stunning Maltese Falcon and Leopard 3. The designer is very much at the forefront of yacht design and supports the expansion of fuel cell technology into the yachting world, ‘a future yacht in five years time will be aimed at designing the whole yacht round a cell and accommodating a fuel cell will be standard issue in the marine design industry’, Ken Freivokh.

It cannot be overlooked that the quick win in environmental conservation is just to use less energy. Ideally however, technology can help maintain a sustainable environment without compromising on performance of the yacht and in relation to some specifications even enhance the sailing potential. The overall goal of the concept yacht is to elevate the sailing experience whilst protecting our environment using a safe, reliable and low maintenance fuel cell system.

Fuel cells work on a simple principle. The chemical energy in hydrogen is converted into electrical energy. Hydrogen is combined with oxygen from the air across a special membrane to produce electricity, heat and water. The electricity is then used to recharge batteries, the heat can be piped away for use in water and space heating and the waste water is directed back into the system to aid in the reforming process. In fact for every kilowatt of electrical power produced, over 1 kilowatt of heat is also generated – essentially doubling the efficiency of the system. Using high efficiency fuel cell systems that are completely harmless to the environment - producing no toxic emissions - is an important step along the path to the ultimate solution a zero carbon economy

Voller has developed ‘low cost fuel processor technology’ which can extract the hydrogen found in LPG, Calor Gas or Propane. Voller’s ‘Emerald fuel cell system’ is globally the first to run from these fuels. The fuel processor only produces hydrogen on demand promoting a higher efficiency system. Inputs and outputs to the fuel cell system can be closely monitored using software written by Voller Energy. Via modem and Voller Energy software the fuel cell can be monitored remotely at all times.

source: BYM News

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 5:39 am and is filed under Design, Energy, Environment, News, Products, Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.