The prospective “zero-emission” ship of the Bastia Professional Maritime and Aquaculture High School will be fitted with two hydrogen generators supplied by EODev and will be used to instruct students in fishing vocations.
The Bastia Professional Maritime and Aquaculture High School, which won the France AgriMer request for projects in 2021, has begun work on its first zero-emission vessel. It has previously been the subject of a first public call for tenders, which allowed the consortium of the MAURIC architectural company, the Gatto shipyard in Martigues, Alternative Energies, and EODev to be chosen.
This initial ship, which will be over 20 meters long and nearly 6 meters broad, will be funded to the tune of 4 million euros as part of the France Recovery Plan. It will be launched in 2024 and will be capable of carrying up to 12 passengers and two crew members. It will be powered by a hybrid propulsion system that combines electricity and hydrogen, and it will be equipped with two EODev REXH2 hydrogen generators. They’ll be powered by 9 350-bar tanks on the deck and produce 70 kW apiece, completing the electrical autonomy provided by the two battery packs.
Range of up to 100 nautical miles
The yacht will be capable of reaching up to 12 knots and will be optimized to run at 8 knots for more than 12 hours without interruption. The hydrogen extenders will increase the range to more than 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers).
“It’s a great project, the realization of the ecological transition, but above all, a significant improvement in educational quality for students who will be the only ones in France to be educated on this sort of equipment,” says mechanical teacher Michel Ceccaldi. “For students and professors, this ship is the Holy Grail,” says Jean-Jacques Riutort, a fishing professor.