The journey, which took place 17–18 October, started in Stockholm and went up to Öregrund in the north of the Stockholm archipelago. The small boat, with a two-man crew, was propelled by an electric outboard engine powered by the fuel cell. The fuel cell was fed with hydrogen from a reformer that continuously converts methanol to hydrogen.
The fuel cell system was based on the 1 kW Cellkraft S-1000 PEM fuel cell and the Genesis 20L-D reformer, supplied by US-based Genesis Fueltech. The test is part of a project under way at Cellkraft, financed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, to demonstrate a robust and efficient fuel cell system to generate electric power from methanol.
The total journey length was 87 nautical miles (161 km), at an average speed of 4.6 knots (8.5 km/h). The trip consumed 13 liters of methanol, with an energy content equivalent to 5 liters of diesel.
The test is thought to be the first fuel cell powered boat trip in Sweden, and one of the longest in the world. The energy consumption was equivalent to 0.06 liters of diesel per nautical mile.