LH2 Shipping to build liquid hydrogen-powered vessels

LH2 Shipping has secured 238 million Norwegian Kroner ($24 million) in funding from Enova to develop and build two liquid hydrogen-powered general cargo vessels.

IMAGE: Model of an LH2 ship powered by liquid hydrogen. LH2 Shipping

The company expects to benefit from the experience it has gained from developing the liquid hydrogen-powered ferry Hydra, which has been in operation for the past two years. It has also been involved in building two of Samskip’s liquid hydrogen container vessels.

LH2 Shipping's managing director Ivan Oestvik said the company aims to develop emission-free vessels with hybrid fuel cell-battery systems.

"We see that fuel cells and batteries are working very well together in hybrid systems where different routes and ship types provides different system combinations. Some routes can be operated 100% on batteries whereas fuel cells and LH2 are added where range and charging issues are dominant," Oestvik said.

The Norwegian government's green funding enterprise Enova, is also funding two other hydrogen carriers being built by Møre Sjø, and two ammonia-capable ships being built by Amon Maritime. A total of around NOK 764 million ($76 million) has been allocated during this funding round.

In addition to these projects, Enova will fund ammonia bunker facilities, aiming to establish green fuel the infrastructure along the Norwegian coast.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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