US-based e1 Marine, and Turkish naval design and engineering firm NAVTEK have signed an agreement to jointly develop hydrogen-powered low-carbon marine vessels and port applications for the European market, according to H2 View.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies will initially develop 120-160 meter hydrogen-powered car carrier design, equipped with 8-10MW of propulsion power, with a view to then develop a methanol fuel cell-powered hybrid tugboat design.
As part of the agreement, NAVTEK will oversee naval architecture and vessel design, as well as supplying electrical propulsion system design, while managing power system and controls integration, and ship assembly and construction.
e1 Marine has said it will supply methanol-to-hydrogen reformers for the vessels, offering best practice solutions on system integration. The reformers are able to generate high-purity hydrogen with zero NOx, SOx, or particulate matter.
Earlier this week (November 30) RIX Industries announced it had received an order from Maritime Partners for 10 of the Element 1 licensed methanol-to-hydrogen reformer systems which are set to establish the ‘world’s first’ hydrogen/methanol-powered tugboat.