PONANT and FARWIND Energy have defined a road map to develop production and use of renewable marine hydrogen, according to the company's release. The plan is to share progress on the management of hydrogen on board and collaborate on development of first use cases and overcoming potential technological obstacles. The two partners have set themselves a goal to be in a position to commission PONANT’s Swap2Zero project and the first energy ship at the same time by 2030.
“FARWIND Energy’s hydrogen production technology has the advantage of offering hydrogen refueling solutions in places where there are no means of production and supply. This collaboration is an opportunity to jointly develop a major project that associates a ship with her own source of renewable energy produced locally. It is an unprecedented revolutionary approach that makes total sense", explains Mathieu Petiteau, Newbuilding and R&D Director at PONANT.
"The Swap2Zero programme is the ideal demonstrator to scale up this solution and set new standards. This technological building block will be integrated into our other areas of R&D to support our decarbonization strategy”.
By 2030, PONANT is working on one of the sector’s most innovative R&D projects. Swap2Zero is the first concept of a transoceanic vessel aiming to approach, as far as state-of-the-art technology will allow, carbon neutrality for its future ships, whether sailing, maneuvering, in port or at anchor.
The project aims to be a catalyst for new energy solutions with strong replicability potential for the rest of the industry.
FARWIND Energy designs, develops, markets and operates integrated solutions for the conversion, storage and delivery of far- offshore wind energy. These solutions are based on wind-powered energy ships that transform the kinetic energy into electricity stored on board (batteries, H2, e-fuel). FARWIND Energy solutions allow energy to be supplied as close as possible to the consumer in a form adapted to their needs.