Japan companies run successful marine hydrogen engine trials

A consortium of Japanese companies has successfully completed the world’s first land-based tests of marine hydrogen engines.

IMAGE: Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ liquefied hydrogen fuel supply system. Yanmar

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yanmar Power Solutions and Japan Engine have run hydrogen engine trials at Japan Engine’s headquarters factory in Hyogo, Japan.

They used Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ liquefied hydrogen fuel supply system, which stores and gasifies liquid hydrogen to deliver it at both high and low pressure to engines developed by the three companies.

In the trials, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Yanmar Power Solutions demonstrated that hydrogen can be combusted in medium-speed, four-stroke engines.

Meanwhile, Japan Engine is developing a low-speed, two-stroke hydrogen engine, with operational trials expected to begin next spring.

All three engines are dual-fuel, allowing them to switch between hydrogen and diesel as required. 

“By uniting the technologies of Japanese manufacturers, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yanmar Power Solutions and Japan Engine aim to lead the global adoption of hydrogen-fueled ships and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050,” they said in a joint statement.

The project is supported by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

By Tuhin Roy

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