Scientists have developed a model riverboat, powered by hydrogen and solar energy, as part of Bulgaria’s first interdisciplinary projects involving industry, local authorities and businesses.
HydRUforce is a demonstration boat with hybrid drive, which is based on batteries-cells of solar fuel cells, zero carbon emissions. With the implementation of this project, Bulgarian scientists are joining their research efforts to use low-carbon energy in intra-European inland waterway transport.
DESIGN
A float with a solar roof has been used in the hull. All control and promotion systems and their structural integration have been designed and manufactured within the framework of the National Scientific Program EPLUS.
An important innovation is the combination of energy from photovoltaics and the hydrogen fuel cell to power the boat.
This boat can carry a maximum of 12 people with the crew, at a speed of 5-7 kilometers per hour upstream and 12-14 kilometers per hour downstream. It has a rectangular shape, length 10.5 meters, width 4.5 meters, height 2.5 meters and weighs 3.5 tons.
It is powered by two electric motors with a maximum power of 10 kW and a nominal voltage of 48V. Each motor is connected to a 400 Ah battery, with a voltage of 48V.
In addition, two 3 kW hydrogen fuel cells are connected to increase the buoyancy level.
The hydrogen for the fuel cells is provided by special 10 liter cylinders while solar panels with a total power of 7kW have been installed on its roof.
The capabilities of HydRUforce were tested on a test cruise on the Danube, near the town of Silistra. In 2022 scientists will continue to work testing and evaluating the operation of the ship and its energy and economic efficiency.
research program
This project was implemented under the National Low Carbon Energy Research Program for Transport and Home Use (EPLUS), by a research team from Ruse University and scientists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Sofia University of Technology.
EPLUS is funded by the Ministry of Education and Science.
As part of this project, Bulgarian scientists are working on projects for the storage of energy from RES, effective methods for the capture and use of CO2 and the potential for the use of coal in transport. Teams are developing systems for a standard trolley with a hybrid battery-fuel cell, which will be part of Sofia’s public transport network and will be the first of its kind in the world.
Among the projects is a technology for the elimination of major pollutants from wastewater, for the semi-industrial production of microalgae. Also among its achievements is a positive electrode for a lithium-ion battery with a new structure and absorbent zeolite material for CO2 capture, derived from waste powdered ash
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