An interesting image which I took on the Dusseldorf boatshow today. This 500 watt fuel cell is from a German company called New enerday. The fuel cell is running on propane. The dream of many sailers: silently charging batteries. No noise and no smell. It can also run on natural gas, which makes it very interesting for powering homes in countries such as the Netherlands, where many homes are connected to the gas network.
In above picture, the fuel cell is actually running on the exhibition. The core is at 900 degrees Celsius. It is charging two of our batteries, and a Phoenix Inverter is running of those batteries. It is presented at the booth of genset manufacturer and also Victron distributor Fischer Panda. Fischer Panda is distributing this fuel cell in the marine market.
Larger models include using the generated heat for heating and warm water, making it a Micro combined heat and power system, explained on Wikipedia.
Below picture shows one of the 20 running installations. More information on the houseboat is on the New enerday website
