HYON and Mitsui collaborate on CH2 bunkering

HYON was founded in 2017 on a mission to accelerate the energy transition in the maritime sector through the delivery of fast and safe bunkering of hydrogen for ships.

Together, the parties aim to venture into business opportunities related to establishing hydrogen fuelling infrastructure in Europe, Asia or any other geographies with potential hydrogen demand.

“With its vast network and global presence, Mitsui is an important strategic partner that will allow us to scale the business volume quickly and thereby provide highly competitive offerings to the market. This agreement is an important step towards making HYON a leading global provider of hydrogen fuelling solutions.”, says Jørn K. Lindtvedt, CEO of HYON.

“The hydrogen market is expected to grow significantly within the shipping industry, accelerated by stringent regulations, guidelines and initiatives for GHG emission reductions. By combining Mitsui’s track record and global network in the shipping industry with HYON’s expertise in hydrogen solutions, we aim to capture this growth and penetrate new markets.”, says Kensuke Kubota, General Manager of Transportation & Machinery Bus Div. IV at Mitsui.

Arctic operations

In April, HYON, together with Gen2 Energy AS and ASCO Norway, applied for soft funding from Enova for a hydrogen hub for maritime transport in Nordland, Norway, named the Green Artic HyHub. The hydrogen hub will include large scale production of compressed hydrogen in Mosjøen and bunkering sites for maritime transport in Sandnessjøen and Mosjøen.

Sandnessjøen is an optimal site for establishing a maritime hydrogen hub because of its strategic location, the number of port calls per year by a variety of vessel types and the available infrastructure for maritime transport.

G2E will establish a compressed hydrogen production plant at the industrial site of Nesbruket in Vefsn municipality to produce 15,250 metric tonnes/year (t/y) green hydrogen and together with suppliers develop 20/40 feet containers that can hold hydrogen at 350 bars specially designed for fuelling or swapping purposes within the maritime sector.

Fast fuelling is key for maritime applications as the fuel tanks are large and the allowed time for bunkering is short. HYON is specialised in delivering fast and safe fuelling solutions for hydrogen to ships, providing the missing piece in the hydrogen value chain. HYON will develop a fuelling solution for large vessels enabling to refill fuel tanks with 1000 kg hydrogen in 30 minutes, much faster than current solutions (<80 kg in 30 min) which only exist for onshore transport (i.e., trucks and vehicles).

ASCO provides a comprehensive package of Supply Base Services to the energy industries and operates an established network of own bases (including Sandnessjøen) and joint ventures along the entire Norwegian coast. ASCO will lead the establishment of processes and infrastructure, including cranes, quays and warehouses, for safe storage and swapping of containers.

There is a strong desire to start utilising the fuelling stations for green hydrogen once in operation, proven by eight signed Letters of Intent from maritime users.