Hydrogen, latest developments

New EU report

A new European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) publication provides a comprehensive analysis of the practical and technical issues surrounding the use of hydrogen to fuel ships. By examining the current production capacity for hydrogen, the existing regulatory landscape, fuel storage options, supply and power generation technologies – along with techno-economic analyses and risk-based case studies – Potential of Hydrogen as Fuel for Shipping has identified the potential for adopting hydrogen as a marine fuel.

In its introduction the report, written by authors from American Bureau of Shipping, CE Delft and Arcsilea, notes: “The maritime industry faces substantive challenges, many of which are driven by increasingly stricter air emissions and climate legislation as its practitioners navigate a course towards decarbonisation. Among the broad spectrum of technologies and fuel solutions being considered, hydrogen that is produced with renewable energy (green hydrogen) has been identified as a fuel that could offer a ‘near-zero’ carbon solution on a well-to-wake basis.”

The report asserts that, while shipping has limited experience using hydrogen as a fuel and some of the key technologies (such as engines) remain under development, there is sufficient land-based experience with its production and use that would serve as a sound basis for the transition to a marine fuel.

The EMSA publication states that there are some barriers, such as hydrogen’s low energy density (which would increase the storage needs onboard a ship), the cost of the equipment and significant need to expand the global capacity to distribute and produce green hydrogen. In the end, hydrogen-fuelled vessels may prove to be a more appropriate solution for short-sea shipping rather than deep-sea.

The study can be downloaded at: https://www.emsa.europa.eu/publications/item/5062-potential-of-hydrogen-as-fuel-for-shipping.html

Hydrogen-fuelled 4 stroke engine

Yanmar Power Technology Co. (YPT), a subsidiary of Yanmar Holdings has embarked on the development of a hydrogen-fuelled 4-stroke high-speed engine for power generation for coastal vessels in Japan as part of the Nippon Foundation’s zero emission ship demonstration experiment. The engine utilises hydrogen as a fuel, emitting no CO2 during combustion.