HySHIP: inside Europe’s flagship hydrogen ship demonstrator project

Funded by €8m from Horizon 2020, the 14-strong HySHIP consortium is led by Norwegian shipping operator Wilhelmsen, and includes Equinor and Strathclyde University in the UK. Together, they hope to make LH₂ an attractive fuel option for ship propulsion throughout Europe.

“The HySHIP project was established in January 2020, and at that time we were already developing our so-called ‘Topeka’ concept; a non-emission service to operate between the offshore supply bases on the Norwegian west coast,” explains Wilhelmsen VP special projects Per Brinchmann.

As well as ferrying customer cargo between Norwegian ports, the zero-emissions vessels will also deliver hydrogen sourced from clean energy to coastal fuel bunkers between Stavanger and Kristiansund, serving oil and gas platforms and an increasing number of wind farms.

The HySHIP partners hope that by doing so, they will create a comprehensive LH₂ infrastructure and commercial ecosystem while removing 25,000 trucks from the roads every year.

“We will include hydrogen trailers to supply hydrogen from the production plant at Mongstad to filling stations, which we will establish on our NorSea offshore bases on the route,” says Brinchmann.

“Today, hundreds of trucks move goods between the Stavanger and Bergen areas on a daily basis. The vessels developed by HySHIP will carry road trailers as the main cargo. The potential for emission reductions and safety improvements by moving the goods over to LH₂-powered ships is huge.”

The zero-emissions vessels will deliver hydrogen sourced from clean energy to coastal fuel bunkers between Stavanger and Kristiansund.

The prototype will run on a 1MWh battery pack and a specialised 3MW proton exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cell charged by power from the shore. By using batteries, the HySHIP team hopes to optimise the load and efficiency of the fuel cells. The vessels are expected to begin operations in January 2024. 

“The hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis, fed by green electricity from the Norwegian national grid,” says Brinchmann. “For onboard use, LH₂ is a very clean and easy-to-handle type of fuel. Hydrogen in combination with fuel cells is the only known energy system, besides nuclear, that we may call absolute emission-free. The only emission is vapour in the form of steam.”

Designed as an open-deck roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel, the 2,500m² Topeka is capable of handling containers and trailers carrying both liquid and compressed hydrogen.

The HySHIP project will also develop several ‘replicator’ LH₂-powered vessels, including a smaller tanker barge of 0.5MW for use on inland waterways, a fast ferry and a 20MW deep-sea vessel.  

“Stolt-Nielsen operates a fleet of inland waterway vessels that may cut their emissions significantly by shifting to hydrogen as European countries are now developing their hydrogen infrastructure,” says Brinchmann. “Norled is a leading Norwegian ferry operator with ambitions to shift to liquid hydrogen as a fuel for its fast ferries. Finally, Diana Shipping is a Greek owner with capesize bulkers and will investigate how liquid hydrogen may become a long-term option for deep-sea operations.”

The Topeka prototype will run on a 1MWh battery pack and a specialised 3MW hydrogen fuel cell charged by power from the shore.

So far, so impressive. However, scaling up hydrogen production and use is fraught with challenges.

Hydrogen is liquefied by cooling it down to 20K (-252°C), which is a complex, energy-intensive process. Much of it is produced using fossil fuels, resulting in carbon emissions. It is difficult to store and experience with LH₂ in a distributed energy system is lacking, as is the requisite infrastructure. 

With no full-scale hydrogen-fuelled ships currently in operation, is Brinchmann confident that the HySHIP project can succeed in taking a first step towards scalable LH₂-fuelled maritime operations?

“We believe the technology is mature enough to go to market,” he says. “There will be obstacles in scaling up, but these can be handled. The challenge so far has been the lack of infrastructure for hydrogen, which again is a consequence of low demand, which again is a result of lack of economic incentives and regulatory requirements to shift from polluting fuels.”

There are signs that this is changing. In 2018, the IMO agreed that emissions from global shipping should peak as soon as possible and then fall by at least 50% by 2050 compared with 2008 levels.

Implemented on 1 January 2020, Regulation 14.1.13 of Marpol Annex VI states that sulphur content of marine fuel used on board ships must be reduced from 3.5% mass by mass (‘m/m’) to 0.50% m/m for all vessels not fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS), or scrubbers. In parallel, SOx emissions are controlled in emission control areas to stop the use of fuel with a sulphur content of more than 0.1%.

The HySHIP project aims to remove 25,000 trucks from the roads every year.

From 1 March 2020, the Carriage Ban will prevent any ship not fitted with an EGCS from carrying marine fuel with a sulphur content over 0.50% m/m for use on board.

Two centuries after hydrogen played a key role in the world’s first ICE, this type of regulation – plus the fact that the maritime sector could soon be part of the EU’s carbon market and operators may be forced to buy pollution permits – could be just the kick-start the nascent LH₂ industry needs to scale up.

“There is no chance to compete with traditional fuels such as marine gas oil, heavy fuel oil and liquefied natural gas without changes in the regulatory landscape,” says Brinchmann. “When CO₂ emissions start costing significant amounts, or when emission requirements get much stricter, the industry will respond.”

All image credit: Wilhelmsen