Vessels do not need gasoline

The world's first fuel cell ship has just been launched in the Netherlands.

According to Reuters, the ship - called the Nemo H2 - will carry passengers back and forth across the city of Amsterdam. It can carry up to 78 people. The Nemo H2 is the first ship equipped with fuel cells - batteries that mix hydrogen and oxygen together to generate electricity. The byproduct of electricity production is water, not emissions.

"More than 125 trains pass through Amsterdam every day. So ships like the Nemo H2 will significantly reduce emissions," said Alexander Overdiep, project manager of the Nemo H2 ship.

The Nemo H2 is launched in Amsterdam on December 9.Photo: Reuters.

A promenade on water channels is an indispensable activity for international visitors to the Dutch capital. From the spring of next year, visitors can choose "trips on non-CO2 channel" but only pay an additional 0.5 euros (equivalent to 14,000 VND). The extra money will be spent on research on CO2 reduction technology.

The cost of making a fuel cell is twice as high as that of a diesel engine. Also new ships have to go to the hydrogen fueling station every day to load. Meanwhile diesel-powered vessels only have to get fuel once a week.

Even so, the Dutch government has decided to fund a project to build fuel-powered ships. Experts of the project confirmed that the cost would decrease as the number of hydrogen supply stations increased.