UK-based hydrogen bunkering innovation

Speaking at the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, clean energy solutions provider Unitrove said its facility is vital to fuel an international shipping industry that accounts for around one billion tonnes of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions a year.

“To achieve net zero by 2050 needs the combined will of the industry and governments. As well as building new vessels, we need to ensure the infrastructure is in place. At this moment in time, there’s no clean-fuel bunkering infrastructure – it’s practically non-existent,” said Steven Lua, CEO of Leicestershire-based Unitrove.

“Without zero-emission fuelling infrastructure, the drive for zero-emission ships will falter. In terms of infrastructure, there’s nothing significant in place today, but we are here to change that.”

From LNG to hydrogen

Having already successfully delivered the UK’s first LNG bunkering facility at Teesport in May 2015, Lua said he believes liquid hydrogen will play a vital role in the development of clean, affordable, reliable, and sustainable fuelling options, especially for larger sea vessels.

Lua added that liquid hydrogen as a commercial fuel was relatively unexplored as an option – but that it had great potential for many uses, including plugging the gap where electric and compressed hydrogen cannot reach.

“We already see very early signs of light-duty vessels being battery-driven or powered by compressed gaseous hydrogen, but liquid hydrogen will allow us to serve the heavier portion of the shipping fleet where we hope to have a much larger impact.

The company is also exploring options including ammonia, liquid organic hydrogen carriers and solid hydrogen.