Comprehensive techno-economic assessment of SOFC hybrid system in marine applications: A carbon emission framework perspective

This study investigates the techno-economic feasibility of a hybrid electric propulsion system that integrates solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), energy storage systems (ESS), and dual fuel generators (DF Gen) for large commercial vessels. A 20-year operational analysis was conducted using 500 h load profiles from a 174,000 m³ liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and total cost of ownership (TCO) were assessed under varying SOFC capital costs, carbon tax levels, and fuel prices within a full carbon life-cycle framework. Unlike conventional approaches that consider only Tank-to-Wake (TTW) emissions, this study adopts a Well-to-Wake (WTW) and CO 2 -equivalent perspective to comprehensively evaluate greenhouse gas impacts. The results show that the SOFC + ESS hybrid system improves electrical efficiency and achieves CO 2 emission reductions of up to 3 % compared…