Solid Oxide Fuel Cell & Battery Genset Demonstrator Dataset and Commissioning Report

This dataset comprises all performance measurement data recorded by the NAUTILUS Genset demonstrator, which was officially launched on 29 October 2024, at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics facility in Stuttgart. The NAUTILUS Genset demonstrator features an innovative propulsion system based on a 60 kWe Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) system provided by SolydEra, coupled with a 40 kWh Li-ion battery in a battery and controls container provided by MAN Energy Solutions, which includes the the energy management system (EMS) provided by RWTH Aachen University. The thus equipped demonstrator, with a total rated power of 80 kWe, tested various cruise ship load profiles and delivered a total of 62,6 MWh electrical energy to the grid at DLR Stuttgart between September and end of December of 2024.

The NAUTILUS Genset serves as a functional demonstrator for testing a future scaled-up onboard energy system, which will require 5 to 60 MW of power depending on vessel size and type. Coordinated by DLR’s Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics and funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, NAUTILUS aims to create a power solution for long-haul passenger ships, designed to meet cruise ships' energy requirements for propulsion, manoeuvring, and hotel amenities.

This dataset contains the following files:

Measurement data timeseries:  A compressed file containing the measurement data timeseries for the entire duration of the campaign, including all performance measurements from the individual components, including SOFC system, battery and energy management system (EMS).

Index.xlsx: A chronological index file indicating the correspondence to tests performed in the time series and to the directory structure in each individual csv file.

Directory structure with csv files organized in the folder structure, each of them with zip compression.

Sample evaluation script (dem_analysis.py): A sample file for evaluation of the dataset, with the function of

indicating variable naming convention,

generating a single timeseries from all individual results files, in parquet compression,

generating an overview plot and all plots used for the commissioning report.

Units file (units.csv): A file containing the units of each of the variables in the timeseries.

Commissioning report: A document covering the initial phase of the genset operation until the conclusion of the emissions measurement.