Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology said Wednesday that its Raicho N has become the first ship powered only by hydrogen fuel cell and lithium-ion secondary battery systems that was certified to have passed a mandatory ship inspection in Japan.
The transport ministry issued the ship inspection certificate for university's 9.1-ton experimental vessel, capable of carrying 12 people.
"It has been demonstrated that the fuel cell ship can operate at a practical level," Tsuyoshi Ode, specially appointed professor of the university, told a news conference, showing expectations for widespread use of such ships.
The hybrid control system combining the two types of power systems and the safety technology will be utilized for a passenger boat capable of carrying 150 people that gas supplier Iwatani and others plan to operate at the 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka.
The hydrogen fuel cell system of the Raicho N is the same as the one used in Toyota Motor's Mirai car. It requires three tanks of high-pressure hydrogen gas at room temperature.
Also using the lithium-ion secondary battery system, Raicho N can sail some 75 kilometers in five hours at a speed of 8 knots per hour.
Raicho N was developed in a project of the government-linked New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO. It was tested in seas around the university's Etchujima campus in Tokyo for the past two years.
Hydrogen fuel cell ships are considered suitable for small coastal vessels such as freighters, passenger ships and fishing boats. A key problem that needs to be resolved is the establishment of infrastructure to supply hydrogen, either through direct gas injections or replacements of gas tanks.