Engines of the future
The next milestone on the way to climate-neutral shipping: MEYER WERFT will deliver the Silver Nova as early as 2023. Thanks to an innovative fuel concept with low-emission LNG, a fuel cell system for the entire hotel operation and batteries, the new ship has the best possible measures to reduce emissions. The new building already exceeds the IMO's Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) by 25 percent, the highest requirement that will only apply in the future.
The fuel cell system with a capacity of 4 megawatts will complement the LNG engines as the first large installation of its kind in the cruise industry to supply the ship's power and power the entire hotel operation. This completely eliminates pollutant emissions while the ship is in port. In addition, a battery system increases the overall efficiency of the ship by absorbing peak loads, thus significantly reducing fuel consumption. A newly developed Micro Auto Gasification System (MAGS) converts waste on board into thermal energy in the spirit of the circular economy, further increasing the ship's efficiency.
Fuel cells are considered the technology of the future. The principle is as simple as it is ingenious. Hydrogen plus oxygen are converted into electricity and heat. The hydrogen is obtained from methanol, which can be produced from renewable energy sources in the long term. In this way, the fuel cells work without harmful emissions; only water vapour is produced. The technology is also quiet and low-vibration - an important prerequisite for operation on board cruise ships.
We are LNG pioneers
In 2018, we delivered AIDAnova, the first ocean liner to run exclusively on liquefied natural gas (LNG). It’s currently the cleanest cruise ship in the world. The low-emission fuel fully prevents the release of particulate matter and sulphur oxides and significantly reduces the emission of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. MEYER WERFT was working on this solution with its partners for ten years. AIDAnova has become the first cruise ship to be awarded the “Blauer Engel” environmental seal by the German government. The development of the LNG drive system has consolidated our position as the technological leader in the construction of cruise liners, and it’s also a huge incentive for us to continue our research. Our objective is to build a zero-emission cruise ship with alternative and renewable fuels – we’re putting all our passion and courage into the development of new ideas.
Energy efficiency on board
The specialist engineers and technicians at MEYER WERFT are making lots of tiny adjustments to sensors, heat recovery and insulation features to further boost the efficiency of our on-board systems. As all the energy required on board is generated by the ship’s engines, a lot of fuel can be saved through energy-efficient operations to protect the environment and reduce our running costs.
