Powering Brazil’s first green hydrogen-powered vessel

Itaipu Parquetec has developed Brazil’s first vessel powered entirely by green hydrogen, demonstrating the potential of zero-emission marine propulsion. Epic Power supplied the bidirectional DC/DC conversion technology that enables the efficient integration of the photovoltaic system into the vessel’s electrical architecture.

Designed as a sustainable research platform, the vessel combines a hydrogen propulsion system with onboard photovoltaic generation. To integrate both energy sources within the electrical architecture, the project required a reliable and efficient DC/DC conversion solution capable of interfacing different voltage levels while ensuring stable operation of the main DC bus, with a nominal voltage of 460 VDC.

Vessel specifications

• Type: Pontoon – 31 ft.
• Weight: 1500 kg.
• Load capacity: 9000 kg.
• Lenght overal (LOA): 9.5 m.
• Maximum beam: 3 m.

Angel Ambrocio Q. – Hydrogen project engineer and hydrogen plant operations & maintenance (O&M) specialist at Itaipu Parquetec (Brazil)

“The technical support and assistance we received were essential to successfully integrating the converter into our solution.
Today, DC/DC converters are essential components in hydrogen systems, and Epic Power’s technology enabled us to successfully implement this application.”

The challenge

The photovoltaic system operates independently from the vessel’s 460 VDC power distribution bus, making voltage adaptation essential to ensure safe and efficient energy transfer.

The solution had to meet the following requirements:

• Interface different DC voltage levels.
• Regulate the energy flow from the photovoltaic system.
• Maintain DC bus stability.
• Integrate seamlessly with the hydrogen propulsion system.

The Epic Power solution.

Epic Power supplied an isolated bidirectional DC/DC converter, model EPC 4k8 6125iHL, which acts as the interface between the photovoltaic strings and the vessel’s 460 VDC bus.

The converter regulates the voltage, controls energy transfer, and ensures stable operation of the DC distribution system, enabling the efficient integration of renewable energy into the hydrogen- and solar-based propulsion architecture.

During testing, the photovoltaic system was verified to generate sufficient power to perform vessel manoeuvres within the dock area, demonstrating its direct contribution to the propulsion system.

Performance

The following performance data were collected during system validation, highlighting converter efficiency, DC bus stability, and power transfer under real operating conditions.

Prior to the project’s presentation at COP30 in Belém, the Itaipu Parquetec team collected converter efficiency data onboard the vessel under real operating conditions.

Although lower solar irradiance reduced the available solar power at various times throughout the day, the system’s average efficiency exceeded 86% over the test period, highlighting its performance under less-than-ideal operating conditions.

Below, we can see an efficiency graph:

Planning a Marine Electrification Project?

Integrating multiple DC energy sources requires the right power conversion architecture from the earliest stages of a project.

Need help selecting or integrating a bidirectional DC/DC converter into your application? Our engineering team can help.

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