AIDA Cruises plans practical trial of fuel cells abord one of its ships as early as 2021
In the latest edition of “AIDA cares” the company documents further progress on its way to emission-neutral cruising. As early as 2023, 94 percent of all AIDA guests will be sailing on ships that can be fully operated with low-emission liquefied natural gas or, in port, with green shore power, the German cruise line said in a press release.
After ten years of research and development, AIDA Cruises achieved a technological quantum leap with the commissioning of AIDAnova on December 12, 2018, putting the world’s first cruise ship that is fully operated by low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) into service.
By 2023 two more of these innovative ships will take to the oceans. The company is also retrofitting the ships in the existing fleet on an ongoing basis with state-of-the-art green technology. The use of LNG, shore power from renewable energy sources, the use of modern exhaust gas cleaning systems, the reduction or complete elimination of plastic and disposable products, and the avoidance of food waste on board are key issues that AIDA Cruises is tackling.
AIDA Cruises is considering first practical trial of fuel cells aboard an AIDA ship planned as early as 2021. AIDA Cruises’ long-term goal is emission-neutral cruising. Together with its partners in the worlds of research, science and business, AIDA Cruises has been doing pioneering work for many years in the area of research into and the use of alternative propulsion technologies and state-of-the-art environmental technology. As part of its Green Cruising Strategy, for instance, AIDA is exploring the possibility of CO2-free production of liquefied gas from renewable sources (“Power to gas” project) or the use of fuel cells and batteries for cruise ships. Within the scope of the “Pa-X-ell 2” project (promoted by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure), practical trials of fuel cells aboard an AIDA ship are planned as early as 2021 in conjunction with the Meyer Werft shipyard and other partners.
Fuel in use:
The use of low-sulfur fuels has already been a reality in many of AIDA Cruises travel regions for years. In the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, off the coasts of North America and in all other ECA-regions worldwide, we use low-sulfur fuel containing at most 0.1 percent sulfur. In all European ports, the engines of AIDA ships have already been using only fuel containing a maximum of 0.1 percent sulfur for almost a decade now. After ten years of research and development, the exclusive use of low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) on a cruise ship became a reality as well, with the launch of AIDAnova at the end of 2018. AIDA Cruises will be putting two more of these innovative ships into service by 2023.
AIDA Cruises is an American/British-owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany. The company was founded as Deutsche Seereederei and entered the cruise industry in the 1960s.