CARB got the idea from a demonstration project at the Port of Hawaii using fuel cell gensets. This was reported in the September 2015 edition of WorldCargo News, but, to recap, the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) funded testing for “the first prototype hydrogen fuel cell unit to power onboard refrigerated containers”.

A hydrogen fuel cell system housed in a 20ft container was tested for powering reefers in port and on barges between Honolulu and Hawaii’s outer islands, carried by Young Brothers, a subsidiary of Fos Maritime. The container had 75 kg of onboard hydrogen stored at 350 bar, with a rated power of 100 kW, 240 VAC 3-phase, which can be divided among 10 plugs to power up to 10 reefers at a time for 20 hours of continuous operation. The use of fuel cells was evaluated by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in May 2017, which resulted in a comprehensive evaluation report.

The test site at Young Brothers had no hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, and the generator had to be trucked 7 miles to a filling station, which was required eight times over the six-month trial period,  dispensing a total of 428 kg of hydrogen.

SNL explained the tests results as follows: “From the period of August 2015 to June 2016, the generator was used by Young Brothers on 52 different days for a total of 278 hours. It averaged 29.4 kW (gross) during this period, for a total energy generation output of 7,285 kWh and achieved a 5-minute continuous peak power of 91.3 kW (gross). Its net energy efficiency ranged from 36% to 54% over the load range of 16% to 62%. By comparison, the net efficiency of an equivalent diesel generator efficiency is from 25% to 34% in this same load range. Using no diesel fuel, and producing zero  emissions at the point of use, during the demonstration period, the fuel cell generator displaced 865 gallons of diesel fuel, over 16 Mt of CO2 emissions, and avoided nearly 150 combined kilograms of  criteria pollutants (NOx, CO, HC, PM, and SOx), compared to an existing Young Brothers 350 kW Tier 3 diesel generator.”

Despite its promising environmental performance, there were several technical issues that limited the use of the system. Problems included the start-up battery draining, resulting in starting difficulties, and higher than anticipated consumption of deionised water, which meant the reservoir was too small, and needed frequent refilling. A dedicated operator would have been needed to maintain continuous operation, the report noted.

While the unit “did not operate flawlessly”, it did not experience any safety issues, or any degradation in the seaport environment, said SNL.

The Port of Long Beach noted that, as well as the technology not being fully developed and proven, any reefers in its new rail facility would be bound for inland destinations, and it is not feasible to require a different power source just for their time in the port’s yard.

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This complete item is approximately 550 words in length, and appeared in the February 2018 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 25. To access this issue download the PDF here.