Hydrogen-based ship propulsion project gets €15 million funding from EU

The project, dubbed the Ship-aH2oy project, will develop and demonstrate the use of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for ships, with hydrogen stored in a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) to achieve emission-free propulsion.

PHOTO: Illustration of project design. Edda Wind

The project will see the onboard installation of a 1 MW hydrogen power system, having a fuel cell module and a hydrogen release unit.

The project is being developed by a consortium of 17 partners, including Germany-based Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, Norway-based service operation vessels provider Edda Wind and manufacturer of refrigeration systems Teknotherm.

The consortium will receive the grant over five years from the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

As part of the project, Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies will oversee the design of the LOHC release unit and its integration with the fuel cell module. The design is expected to be scalable for larger ships.

Hydrogenious LOHC's technology uses organic compounds that can absorb and release hydrogen through chemical reactions. These compounds can be used as storage media for hydrogen, as it reduces safety hazards associated with the transportation of hydrogen - one of the primary deterrents to its adoption as an alternative fuel.

Edda Wind will provide the vessel for this project.

The project has a wide range of partners from the maritime industry and aims to achieve zero-emission shipping.

By Shilpa Sharma

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