Italian shipyard Fincantieri delivered its ninth cruise ship to Viking — Viking Neptune. The first ship in this class was the Viking Star, built in 2015. The length of these liners is 228 meters, the displacement is 47,842 tons, and the passenger capacity is 930 people.
Viking Neptune — the first cruise ship to have a hydrogen fuel system for in-flight power. According to the shipbuilders, the experimental hydrogen fuel cell module generates 100 kW of nominal power. At the same time, all that is necessary for its functioning is hydrogen gas and ordinary air.
The two companies are currently collaborating on the development of a larger vessel configuration that will be implemented after 2024. It is planned to install a larger hydrogen tank, fuel cell modules and associated support systems. As a result, at the second stage, a hydrogen production system with a total capacity of about six to seven megawatts — the largest “battery” ever used on a cruise ship.
The Viking Neptune fuel cell system is similar to the small prototype installed at MSC World Europa, which was delivered from the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in October. “Europe” runs on electricity generated by electrochemical reactions with liquefied gas using technology developed by Bloom Energy. Each module is capable of generating 75 kW of power. MSC is using the facility as a testbed to develop hybrid engine technology.
Four hydrogen fuel cell-powered Viking cruise ships are scheduled to be built at the Fincantieri shipyard in 2026-2028.