Wilhelmsen and NorSea play an important part in a big project where environmentally friendly liquid hydrogen can be offered to commercial shipping in large scale supply within first quarter 2024, the company said in its release.
Together with major industry players such as Equinor, Viking Cruises, Air Liquide, and more, this is a huge and important step towards a sustainable future, and it aligns perfectly with Wilhelmsen’s long-term strategy supporting the UN sustainable development goals. The project was today awarded a grant of NOK 33.5 million (USD 3.7 million) from the governmental PILOT-E scheme, whose objective is to promote rapid development and deployment of new, environment-friendly technology products and services.
Clean and sustainable shipping is key to reach national and international emission targets. Today, liquid hydrogen is considered as one of the optimal zero-emission fuels for ships with high energy demands. It has already been selected for Norway’s first hydrogen ferry, which will be in operation for Norled on the Hjelmeland connection starting in 2021. The consortium’s goal is to kick-start the local market with liquid hydrogen-based on electrolysis.
Furthermore, Wilhelmsen and NorSea Group will develop a new and flexible liquid hydrogen distribution concept, including Zero-emission ships for transport plus terminals at the NorSea supply bases for storage and bunkering. Norled, Wilhelmsen and Viking Ocean Cruises participate in the project as hydrogen users on their vessels. The hydrogen terminals will also enable supply to other types of end-users such as buses and heavy-duty transport.