Yanmar just announced that it’s making a 4-stroke, high-speed marine engine that uses hydrogen fuel. The goal is to develop hydrogen power for zero-emission vessels. Yanmar is working with the commercial coastal cruising industry in Japan on the hydrogen power project now, but the implications for recreational cruising boats in the future are vast.
While it is developing the new hydrogen engine, Yanmar is also working on a hybrid-electric-propulsion vessel that would combine hydrogen-engine generators with batteries. The preliminary innovative design incorporates a container type of a hydrogen power generation system on the upper deck.
As part of its transition to zero emissions, Yanmar plans to develop a pilot-ignition engine that uses a small amount of pilot biofuel and hydrogen combustion, as well as a spark-ignition, hydrogen-only engine. It will start onshore testing this year using a 6-cylinder hydrogen engine with pilot ignition, with the goal of conducting verifications operations by 2026.
At the same time, Yanmar will conduct onshore tests with a spark-ignition, hydrogen-only engine. If the tests go as planned, Yanmar will achieve zero emissions for coastal vessels by 2030 by promoting the use of hydrogen-powered propulsion systems.
The entire Zero-Emission Ship Project is under the auspices of the Nippon Foundation, which wants to develop hydrogen-fueled ships to achieve carbon neutrality in coastal shipping by 2050.
Read more: https://www.yanmar.com/global/about
