Norway's Hexagon Purus Maritime recently secured a purchase order of a $2.75 million compressed hydrogen fuel system for a sustainable ship commissioned by the international environmental network Greenpeace.
According to Offshore Energy, the ship, designed by Dykstra Naval Architects of the Netherlands, is a unique hybrid of sorts, relying on several different resources for power. It will have 2,000 square meters of sails, battery packs, solar panels, and systems that run on hydrogen and e-methanol.
Spain's Freire Shipyard placed the order on behalf of the zero-emission maritime solutions company and will build the 75-meter vessel.
"Hexagon Purus is committed to actively leading the way in developing zero-emission alternatives," said Guillermo Freire, the managing director of Freire Shipyard. "After a comprehensive tender process, we became confident that Hexagon Purus Maritime had the ability and highest technical capabilities to deliver on this exciting project."
"We are delighted to support Greenpeace's mission to showcase innovative solutions for reducing maritime emissions," added Robert Haugen, Hexagon Purus Maritime's managing director. "This partnership underscores our commitment to pioneering zero-emission technologies and contributing to a sustainable future for the maritime industry."
Haugen also published an op-ed through Offshore Energy outlining the challenges of using hydrogen in the shipping industry, which is responsible for 3% of the worldwide planet-warming gas pollution.
He highlighted the currently high initial investment cost of producing hydrogen through renewable energy versus natural gas — a problem that methanol shares — and the need to improve infrastructure and the safety of the fuel. However, he remained optimistic that more initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act would help expedite the transition.
After all, alternative options to traditional forms of fuel are gaining traction in an effort to curb rising temperatures. Offshore Energy noted that green hydrogen is "expected to supply up to 25% of the world's energy needs by 2050," though Wood Mackenzie (PDF) has projected that in its "base-case analysis, low carbon hydrogen can constitute approximately 7% of final energy demand by 2050" in consultation with the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership.
Still, non-green hydrogen essentially makes little sense given the other fuels required for production, so electrolysis with effectively free renewable energy should win out in the long run once the infrastructure exists.
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Hexagon Purus Maritime delivered the hydrogen storage tanks for the world's first hydrogen-powered passenger ferry in San Francisco, and Bill Gates has been linked to a superyacht that runs on hydrogen.
Meanwhile, a container ship fueled by methanol traversed one of the world's few long-distance green shipping corridors between Rotterdam and Singapore, which requires ships to use fuels that release little to no pollution.
These are all positive developments in the International Maritime Organization's quest for "net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by or around 2050."
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