South Korea funds hydrogen carrier pilot with $40 million

The South Korean government will fund the “world’s largest” liquefied hydrogen carrier pilot project with 55.5 billion South Korean Won ($40 million) by 2027.

IMAGE: Kawasaki’s Suiso Frontier became the world’s first vessel to carry a liquified hydrogen cargo in February 2022, when it completed a 9,000 km voyage between Australia and Japan. Hystra

Hydrogen’s low volumetric energy density makes it complicated to transport and store on vessels. To prevent it from escaping into the atmosphere during transport, it needs to be stored either in a compressed gas form at high pressure (350-700 bar), or in a cryogenic form at very low temperatures (−252.8°C).

The South Korean hydrogen carrier will be designed to with a containment system to hold liquefied hydrogen at a cryogenic temperature of -253°C, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

Large-scale hydrogen carriers have not yet been commercialised, making it one of the most technically challenging areas in future ship development, the ministry added.

The government has created a task force for this project, which includes shipping industry experts, three shipbuilding universities and shipping-focussed research institutes.

By Konica Bhatt

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