Advent Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Laskaridis Shipping Company Ltd., a ship management company based in Athens, Greece, with a fleet of 90 vessels, which includes 55 midsized or large dry bulk vessels. Under the terms of the MoU, Laskaridis and Advent will jointly conduct a pilot program, under which Advent will supply Laskaridis Shipping with its Serene High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (HT-PEM) methanol-powered fuel cells.

Laskaridis Shipping will install these systems on selected dry bulk vessels to assess their overall performance as auxiliary, back-up, or emergency power sources.

Following the successful completion of the pilot program, Laskaridis Shipping and Advent will collaborate on manufacturing and testing the next generation of Advent’s fuel cells.

These collaboratively tested fuel cells are expected to be based on Advent’s next-generation Membrane Electrode Assembly, which is currently being developed within the framework of L’Innovator, the company’s joint development program with the US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Advent is a vertically integrated manufacturer. Its portfolio includes advanced HT-PEM fuel cell systems, covering the range from 25W to 90kW. Serene methanol-powered fuel cells deliver critical and reliable power in an environmentally friendly way—reducing CO₂ emissions and operating silently—while having a low impact on surroundings. Methanol as a carrier of hydrogen allows simpler storage (handling and logistics) compared to pure hydrogen and enhances the safety of operations.

The fuel applied for Serene systems is a pre-mix consisting of 60% methanol and 40% demineralized and de-ionized water (on a volume basis). This pre-mixture provides many advantages, since it is less flammable (fire class II) than pure methanol and, therefore, is cheaper to transport. Moreover, there is no water condenser needed, which again means lower weight resulting in higher efficiency.

Earlier, Advent signed an MoU with Neptune Lines Shipping and Managing Enterprises S.A., a leading vehicle logistics provider operating 18 Pure Car and Truck Carrier vessels (owned or chartered), with a cargo capacity ranging between 1,500-4,600 cars, for a pilot program to explore the application of a fuel cell-based auxiliary power system.

This application will be tested by Neptune Lines’ team, which will evaluate its performance as a sustainable source of power generation. After the evaluation stage, the parties will consider a broader collaboration.