Overview of past, present and future marine power plants

In efforts to overcome an foreseeable energy crisis predicated on limited oil and gas supplies, reserves; economic variations facing the world, and of course the environmental side effects of fossil fuels, an urgent need for energy sources that provide sustainable, safe and economic supplies for the world is imperative. The current fossil fuel energy system must be improved to ensure a better and cleaner transportation future for the world. Despite the fact that the marine transportation sector consumes only 5% of global petroleum production; it is responsible for 15% of the world NOx and SOx emissions. These figures must be the engine that powers the scientific research worldwide to develop new solutions for a very old energy problem. In this paper, the most effective types of marine power plants were discussed. The history of the development of each type was presented first and the technical aspects were discussed second. Also, the fuel cells as a new type of power plants used in marine sector were briefed to give a complete overview of the past, present and future of the marine power plants development. Based on the increased worldwide concerns regarding harmful emissions, many researchers have introduced solutions to this problem, including the adoption of new cleaner fuels. This paper was guided using the same trend and by implementing the hydrogen as fuel for marine internal combustion engine, gas turbines, and fuel cells. © 2013 Harbin Engineering University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.