After having experimented with electric boats, Les Canalous, builder and rental company of river boats, is trying the hydrogen experiment. The shipyard has just launched a boat designed for day trips, equipped with a fuel cell that recharges a battery pack to which an electric motor is connected.
Greening the river fleet
This manufacturer, which has more than 300 boats for rent, is looking for solutions to "green" its fleet without degrading the customer experience. Alfred Carignant, the CEO of Canalous, explains: " A river cruise offers complete freedom. On a river cruise, you can stop wherever you want. The most important items on board are the 2 poles and the mallet that allow you to make an improvised stop. With the electric propulsion which requires the recharge of the batteries, we impose to our customers forced stops at the foot of the recharge station for at least 8 hours. Moreover, we are dependent on the installation of these infrastructures that we do not control. Hence our desire to test a hydrogen-based solution. "
Soon a hydrogen-powered houseboat
The Canalous project is to be done in two stages. The first, which has just been presented, is a boat for day trips that returns to the base every evening. It is an experiment before launching into a houseboat with a fuel cell.
Alfred Carignant specifies: " We are discovering that the real issue in this case is hydrogen refueling ". Indeed, for the moment the test boat has an autonomy of 8 hours while functioning with its 74 l tank charged at 350 bars. The fuel cell delivers a power of 3 kW. The CEO adds: " The hydrogen refill is done by a truck supply at the construction site, but in the future it will be necessary to find a more perennial solution ".
Up to 15 days of autonomy
" This first boat is a laboratory, because for a day use, the fuel cell is not justified. Indeed, we could easily recharge the batteries at night. But this demonstrator allowed us to validate technical points and to project ourselves for the next stage of the project: the habitable boat with a hydrogen fuel cell. "Indeed, for a houseboat, you have to think about propulsion, but also about supplying the comfort equipment on board. " Ideally, we would like to offer a boat that provides two weeks of autonomy to our clients. "
Despite a little delay on the first boat, Les Canalous hope to offer a boat of their Tarpon range by 2024.
