A demonstration project for the commercialisation of high-power hydrogen fuel cell (FC) vessels to enable zero-emission operations will be carried out by a group of Japanese companies.
This is Japan's first effort to develop a commercially available FC vessel and carry out a demonstration operation involving the supply of hydrogen fuel at the Port of Yokohama in Japan.
“By using FCs as a power source, it will be possible to completely eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during navigation,” said NYK Line, one of the companies taking part in the project.
Alongside NYK Line, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), and ENEOS Corporation will develop an approximately 150t high-power FC vessel that will function as a medium-sized tourist ship, and in 2024 carry out a demonstration operation of the FC vessel together with a demonstration supply of hydrogen fuel.
An FC vessel and hydrogen-fuel-supply feasibility study will begin in September 2020 and in 2021 the companies will start designing the vessel and hydrogen-fuel-supply equipment. Construction and production are expected to start in 2023, and pilot operation of the vessel along the coast of Yokohama port is scheduled to begin in 2024.
