The Perspective of Fuel Cell High‐Speed Powerboats

Abstract

This work compares different propulsion systems to propel a class‐1 power boat: a very large battery plus electric motor; a fuel tank, fuel cell, and small battery plus electric motor; a conventional fuel tank and internal combustion engine. A fuel tank and internal combustion engine propulsion system deliver the largest mechanical energy at the sterndrive per unit mass of the propulsion system at 4.30 MJ kg−1 of propulsion system with hydrocarbon fuels and 4.30 to 4.74 MJ kg−1 with hydrogen fuel. A fuel tank, fuel cell, battery, and electric motor propulsion system deliver the second‐best sterndrive mechanical energy density at 0.75 MJ kg−1 of the propulsion system. This is almost 2.5 times the value of the sterndrive mechanical energy density of a very large battery and electric motor propulsion system which is last at 0.30 MJ kg−1 of the propulsion system. Preferring electric propulsion to conventional mechanical propulsion, further optimization of the fuel tank, fuel cell, and the small battery may be carried out targeting the sought trade‐off between range and performance, short‐term and continuous.