The project aims to develop a new power generation technology for full electrical propulsion (FEP) ships, based on an ammonia/hydrogen dual-fuelled Linear Engine-Generator (df-LEG), proposed in this application. The external ammonia reactor of the df-LEG uses a small amount of hydrogen, electrolysed from ammonia as the pilot fuel, to sustain continuous and stable ammonia combustion. Ammonia is identified as one of the most promising hydrogen carriers to enable a 'Hydrogen Economy' in the marine sector. It can be produced with renewable sources and stored in a safe and volumetrically-efficient way (-34C and ambient pressure) on board ships for long-distance maritime journeys. The 'carbon-free' emissions from complete ammonia oxidisation are mostly water and nitrogen, which could make a substantial contribution to reducing maritime transport carbon emissions (which currently stand at approximately 1000 million tonnes of CO2 annually). The research will potentially contribute to important debates at national and international level regarding the nature of the future hydrogen economy, mainly: how will shipping be powered in the 'Hydrogen Era' and can this technology contribute to future 'carbon-free' autonomous shipping. The proposed df-LEG utilises a novel configuration, which is the first-of-its-kind to fully integrate a linear alternator into a linear engine. Conventional internal combustion free-piston engine prototypes (10-20kWe), such as those built by Toyota (42% electric efficiency) and Newcastle University (34-45%) have already proved to be as efficient as proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. While the df-LEG prototype will demonstrate a comparable efficiency to the existing technologies, it has the potential to further advance the efficiency to more than 40% due to friction reduction, transmission loss minimisation, and thermodynamic cycle improvement. The pressure ratio can be increased to 30:1 due to the closed-cycle structure to further boost the overall efficiency. The prototype design approaches will involve a mixture of computational design and experimental testing, and builds upon ongoing research projects at Newcastle University (Innovate UK TS/P010431/1, EPSRC Impact Acceleration Awards). The research will be the first to demonstrate the feasibility of this integrated design and seek to answer questions regarding the fundamental relationships between ammonia chemical reaction, thermodynamic process, moving part (piston and magnets) dynamics, and electric energy generation. The experimental study on the prototype will fill the gap on our understanding of thermodynamics and dynamics of the linear engine-generator operating with a non-air working fluid. The research will also identify the best ratio of ammonia, air and hydrogen to optimise heat output and NOx emissions, eventually aiming to make the df-LEG the first direct 'ammonia-to-electricity' energy convertor. The fellowship will be set in the vibrant academic environment of Newcastle University's disruptive linear engine and linear alternator technologies team. The project will include collaborations with national and international stakeholders: Meyer Werft (shipyard), Siemens (system designer), BNC (linear engine engineering), Wessington Cryogenics (cryogenic and pressurised tank manufacturer) and Arnold Magnets (linear alternator magnets manufacturer). The proposed new marine power technology will be considered in a scenario design for a cruise ship under construction at Meyer Werft, during the secondment of the PI.

The project aims to develop a new power generation technology for full electrical propulsion (FEP) ships, based on an ammonia/hydrogen dual-fuelled Linear Engine-Generator (df-LEG), proposed in this application. The external ammonia reactor of the df-LEG uses a small amount of hydrogen, electrolysed from ammonia as the pilot fuel, to sustain continuous and stable ammonia combustion. Ammonia is identified as one of the most promising hydrogen carriers to enable a 'Hydrogen Economy' in the marine sector. It can be produced with renewable sources and stored in a safe and volumetrically-efficient way (-34C and ambient pressure) on board ships for long-distance maritime journeys. The 'carbon-free' emissions from complete ammonia oxidisation are mostly water and nitrogen, which could make a substantial contribution to reducing maritime transport carbon emissions (which currently stand at approximately 1000 million tonnes of CO2 annually). The research will potentially contribute to important debates at national and international level regarding the nature of the future hydrogen economy, mainly: how will shipping be powered in the 'Hydrogen Era' and can this technology contribute to future 'carbon-free' autonomous shipping. The proposed df-LEG utilises a novel configuration, which is the first-of-its-kind to fully integrate a linear alternator into a linear engine. Conventional internal combustion free-piston engine prototypes (10-20kWe), such as those built by Toyota (42% electric efficiency) and Newcastle University (34-45%) have already proved to be as efficient as proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. While the df-LEG prototype will demonstrate a comparable efficiency to the existing technologies, it has the potential to further advance the efficiency to more than 40% due to friction reduction, transmission loss minimisation, and thermodynamic cycle improvement. The pressure ratio can be increased to 30:1 due to the closed-cycle structure to further boost the overall efficiency. The prototype design approaches will involve a mixture of computational design and experimental testing, and builds upon ongoing research projects at Newcastle University (Innovate UK TS/P010431/1, EPSRC Impact Acceleration Awards). The research will be the first to demonstrate the feasibility of this integrated design and seek to answer questions regarding the fundamental relationships between ammonia chemical reaction, thermodynamic process, moving part (piston and magnets) dynamics, and electric energy generation. The experimental study on the prototype will fill the gap on our understanding of thermodynamics and dynamics of the linear engine-generator operating with a non-air working fluid. The research will also identify the best ratio of ammonia, air and hydrogen to optimise heat output and NOx emissions, eventually aiming to make the df-LEG the first direct 'ammonia-to-electricity' energy convertor. The fellowship will be set in the vibrant academic environment of Newcastle University's disruptive linear engine and linear alternator technologies team. The project will include collaborations with national and international stakeholders: Meyer Werft (shipyard), Siemens (system designer), BNC (linear engine engineering), Wessington Cryogenics (cryogenic and pressurised tank manufacturer) and Arnold Magnets (linear alternator magnets manufacturer). The proposed new marine power technology will be considered in a scenario design for a cruise ship under construction at Meyer Werft, during the secondment of the PI.

Power electronics and electrical machines are key components in a low-carbon future, enabling energy-efficient conversion and control solutions for a wide variety of energy and transportation applications. The strength of the UK manufacturing base and its strategic importance to the UK was highlighted in the UK government strategy document "Power Electronics: A Strategy for Success" (UK government Department for Business Innovation and Skills, October 2011). This calls for concerted action across the industrial and academic communities to ensure that the full potential of this growing global market can be realised for the UK economy. Specific recommendations relevant to the UK academic community include: 1) the development of a co-ordinated strategy for postgraduate training; 2) support for research focussing on underpinning the core technology areas whilst ensuring that the national capability in Power Electronics remains internationally leading; 3) establishment of a Virtual Centre linking world-class UK universities with each other and with industry. A core team including the universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Greenwich, Imperial College, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Strathclyde and Warwick, has been formed to develop this proposal for a UK Virtual Centre. Our vision is that the Centre will be the UK's internationally recognised provider of world-leading, underpinning power electronics research, combining the UK's best academic talent. It will focus on sustaining and growing power electronics in the UK by delivering transformative and exploitable new technologies, highly skilled people and by providing long-term strategic value to the UK power electronics industry. Centre activities will be divided into three main strands: research, community and pathways to impact. Our research activities will bring together the leading academic research groups from across the UK to address key research challenges, build critical mass and develop a widely recognised internationally leading research capability. We will develop a UK research strategy for power electronics which will build on foresight activities to inform our research direction. Our community support activities will build capacity through the training of researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level. We will extend our research funding to the broader community through themed calls for pump priming, strategic support and feasibility projects. In addition we will support and coordinate responses to major initiatives from national and international funding bodies. Pathways to impact will include: 1) the establishment and development of the Centre brand and communication mechanisms, 2) the development and implementation of an exploitation plan which benefits UK industry, 3) support for government policy development and 4) the development of collaborative links with key power electronic research teams around the world. The Centre programme focuses on fundamental power electronics research at low technology readiness level (TRL) and hence supports a wide range of application areas with a medium to long-term time horizon. Key challenges to be addressed are: increased efficiency, increased power density, increased robustness, lower electromagnetic interference (EMI), higher levels of integration and lower through life cost. The work programme is split into four high-level themes of Devices, Components, Converters and Drives, each of which will address the key challenges, supported by a coordinating Hub. The themes will deliver the majority of the technical output of the Centre.

The urgent need for EV technology is clear. Consequently, this project is concerned with two key issues, namely the cost and power density of the electrical drive system, both of which are key barriers to bringing EVs to the mass market. To address these issues a great deal of underpinning basic research needs to be carried out. Here, we have analysed and divided the problem into 6 key themes and propose to build a number of demonstrators to showcase the advances made in the underlying science and engineering. We envisage that over the coming decades EVs in one or more variant forms will achieve substantial penetration into European and global automotive markets, particularly for cars and vans. The most significant barrier impeding the commercialisation EVs is currently the cost. Not until cost parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is achieved will it become a seriously viable choice for most consumers. The high cost of EVs is often attributed to the cost of the battery, when in fact the cost of the electrical power train is much higher than that of the ICE vehicle. It is reasonable to assume that that battery technology will improve enormously in response to this massive market opportunity and as a result will cease to be the bottleneck to development as is currently perceived in some quarters. We believe that integration of the electrical systems on an EV will deliver substantial cost reductions to the fledgling EV market Our focus will therefore be on the two major areas of the electrical drive train that is generic to all types of EVs, the electrical motor and the power electronics. Our drivers will be to reduce cost and increase power density, whilst never losing sight of issues concerning manufacturability for a mass market.