British trio to develop hydrogen-powered marine powertrain system

British marine engineering firms Krensen, Trident Marine Electrical and ACUA Ocean have partnered to develop a zero-emission liquid hydrogen-powered marine powertrain system.

PHOTO: ACUA Ocean’s liquid hydrogen cryogenic tank. ACUA Ocean

A powertrain system is an assembly of components that propel a vessel forward.

During the first phase of the project, ACUA Ocean built and tested its liquid hydrogen cryogenic tank, which was certified by Lloyd's Register. The tank will be integrated into the powertrain system.

The prototype powertrain system will go through factory acceptance testing, which helps verify that newly manufactured and packaged equipment meets its intended purpose, at Lowestoft in the summer of 2023. It will then be fitted into ACUA Ocean’s hydrogen-powered unmanned surface vehicle (USV) for trials in 2024.

The project is funded through the UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) - an initiative by the UK's Department for Transport in collaboration with Innovate UK.

By Tuhin Roy

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