UK-based shipping duo to build methanol-powered leisure yacht

Leisure boat builder Archipelago Expedition Yachts (Archipelago) and ship designer Chartwell Marine will build a low-emission methanol-powered ocean-going Catamaran leisure ship.

PHOTO: Concept of methanol-powered leisure craft based on Archipelago 47 Catamaran. Chartwell Marine

The vessel, dubbed Archipelago zero.63, will be powered by a combination of methanol fuel cells and methanol engine.

Chartwell Marine has designed a separate "methanol room" for the vessel. It will be located on deck and will house fuel cells totalling 300 kw (kilowatts) of power. Batteries and solar panels will also be mounted on the roof.

The promising alternative

Chartwell Marine has endorsed bio-methanol as a low- or zero-emission alternative fuel that is energy-efficient and "safe for the local environment even when spilled."

Bio-methanol is produced with sustainable biomass as a feedstock to generate syngas. This process requires little-to-no fossil fuel, reducing its overall carbon footprint. However, it emits CO2 and carbon monoxide, which are naturally present in the waste streams.

Archipelago's managing director Stephen Weatherley says that methanol "ticks all the boxes for us." He also points out that electric and hydrogen propulsion are not yet ready for practical use on leisure craft.

Next in tech for methanol

The shipping industry has expressed interest in exploring the possibility of using methanol fuel cells in future. However, only a handful of companies are currently developing technology related to this.

Freudenberg e-Power Systems, a German fuel cell company, became a frontrunner after receiving classification society RINA’s approval for its methanol-based fuel cell system last year.

Another contender is Danish fuel cell manufacturing firm Blue World Technologies, which is developing membrane-based proton exchange fuel cells for ships.

Also, the Alfa Laval-Advent collaboration is developing methanol-fuelled high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells for auxiliary power on ships.

By Konica Bhatt

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