Gen2 Energy signs contract for compressed hydrogen carrier design

The two container carriers will be about 190 meters long and have a load capacity of 500 40-foot containers. They will use hydrogen as fuel for the propulsion systems.

Gen2 Energy is currently developing large scale production of hydrogen in Mosjøen, Norway. As part of the volume will be exported to countries in Northern Europe, the company says a safe, effective and green method for transporting large number of containers with compressed hydrogen will be required. Seaborne transport is a natural choice, but there are currently no vessels approved for carrying a large amount (>100) of containers with compressed hydrogen gas.

Gen2 Energy has, in partnership with DNV and HYEX Safety, used a risk-based approach method to identify requirements and recommendations for the design, with the purpose of ultimately reaching an Approval in Principle for a specialised container vessel that can safely carry a larger quantity of hydrogen containers per shipment.

“We have set ourselves the goal of contributing to sustainable designs and solutions so that our customers in the international maritime and marine industry can grow safely, green and profitably,” says Erik Haakonsholm, CCO of Sirius Design & Integration. “Therefore, it is very gratifying that our first contract is a ship design and a customer with a green profile throughout the value chain.”

In January, Gen2 Energy signed and MoU with TECO 2030 to cooperate on projects where green hydrogen is needed for fuel cells. Gen2 Energy will involve TECO 2030’s fuel cells in its seaborne value chain, presumably opening the potential for the new vessels to be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Further, the companies jointly committed to investigate supply of green hydrogen from Gen2 Energy for projects in ports, offshore fish farms or other heavy-duty customers. They intend to work together for soft funding regarding maritime hydrogen applications and develop a complete hydrogen value chain through the project “Hydrogen Hub Nordland” that will work to develop and establish a hydrogen industry in northern Norway and enable zero emission sailing along the Norwegian coastline.

And in November 2021, Gen2 Energy and Alcoa Norway agreed to look into the potential of green hydrogen in Alcoas’ aluminium operations in Mosjøen. This includes joint development of solutions for maritime logistics, grid utilisation and power. Gen2 Energy and Alcoa have agreed to participate in a project related to the use of green hydrogen in maritime transport covering regular aluminium shipments from Mosjøen to Rotterdam.