Ocean Hyway Cluster and partners are exploring the potential for retrofitting PSVs for hydrogen or ammonia fuel, including what value a local industry could create for Vestland in western Norway.
Retrofitting existing ships to adopt zero-emission fuels can help speed up emission reductions in the maritime industry, and the Vestland region in Norway, including the city of Bergen, is a key hub for offshore vessels. Considering this, the Ocean Hyway Cluster started a one-year project in November 2023 to evaluate how Vestland could create value for the region’s shipowners, shipyards, ports, fuel producers and equipment suppliers through new fuel retrofit projects. The analysis will focus on technology, economics, and market potential.
Source: Hexagon Purus Maritime
Hexagon Purus Maritime has inked an order for a hydrogen fuel storage system for the Norwegian fish training ship Skulebas
By building and sharing knowledge and competence, the retrofit project aims at lowering the threshold for implementation of zero emission fuels, particularly in the offshore vessel segment. This includes building new value chains and industrial synergies.
“We want to demonstrate how competence building in this area can affect the local shipping industry and planned fuel production along the coast, as well as ripple effects in the local economy,” says Gunnhild Hystad, Project Manager of the Retrofit Study for Ocean Hyway Cluster.
The Ocean Hyway Cluster is Norway’s leading network for hydrogen and ammonia solutions in the maritime industry. Its many other projects have included working on the realization of hydrogen-based fuels in the maritime sector with Equinor and Neptune Energy Norway, the design of a zero-emission tug, and the technical and financial evaluation of developing infrastructure for the supply of compressed hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, and ammonia bunkering.
A project involving both Vestland and the Ocean Hyway Cluster already has involved a hydrogen-fuelled newbuilding. The fishing vessel Skulebas was delivered to Vestland County Council in 2023 and will be operational in 2024. The vessel is used in the training of students at Måløy High School’s program for fisheries, aquaculture, and maritime subjects, and it is equipped with a hydrogen-powered fuel cell in combination with a battery pack. Local partners supplied the complete hydrogen solution for Skulebas.
Now, the retrofit project is led by Ocean Hyway Cluster and the idea initiator, consultancy Greensight, and partners include fuel supplier: H2 Production; equipment manufacturers: Corvus Energy, HAV Hydrogen, Ballard, Azane Fuel Solutions, Helinor Energy, Bergen Engines, Alma Clean Power; ship /yards: Havyard Leirvik, Ulstein; ports and bases: Fjord Base Holding, CCB; service provider: Provaris. The project includes participants across industries to ensure identification of solutions that promote a circular economy and knowledge sharing, and it is funded by the Vestland County Council and the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB foundation.
A first meeting of project participants in November 2023 started work on scoping the project and evaluating the questions that might be answered:
How great is the potential for retrofit and conversion to zero-emission fuels for offshore vessels, and how large are the investment and operating costs?
How much fuel and infrastructure are needed at the selected bases and ports?
How do these needs relate to already planned projects in the green hubs that could produce hydrogen and ammonia, perhaps for other offtakers as well as shipping?
How will increased consumption in offshore shipping contribute to economies of scale and cost reductions for both conversion and operation and for the fuel itself?
What network effects will an increased share of conversion of offshore vessels contribute to?
How many new jobs will be created across shipyards, manufacturers, bases, and shipping companies?
How can retrofit projects contribute to positive ripple effects and value creation in Vestland county?
What investment potential is there throughout the value chain associated with the increase of converted offshore supply vessels?
The project will consider several scenarios for power configurations, but all on the one vessel design, which is yet to be conformed pending a shipowner being recruited to the project. The options being considered are:
1. Main propulsion and support power using hydrogen and fuel cell.
2. Main propulsion and support power using ammonia and fuel cell.
3. Main propulsion and support power using ammonia and engine.
Source: HAV Hydrogen
HAV Hydrogen plans to install its containerised 200kW hydrogen PEM fuel cell module system as part of the demonstration project
A major part of the project will be to determine whether the PSV has the required spacing and safety precautions needed to go low- or fully zero emission using hydrogen or ammonia. “We will focus on one specific design for a PSV and calculate the needed amount of fuel to cover the operational profile, the required space for fuel and fuel cell or combustion engine. I believe that the operational profile and operational requirements, such as peak shaving and dynamic positioning, will influence whether a fuel cell can be the main propulsive power or if one need to add batteries to support,” says Hystad.
Tine Louise Trøen, Technical Advisor for the retrofit study from consultancy Greensight, says that while the technical feasibility of the whole retrofit concept is based on the reduction of the full potential of emissions, the project partners do need to consider technical and operational limitations. Replacement of the main engine within the limitations and demands from shipowners and platform operators is the primary objective of the project. This means considering the system suitability for the demands of operating inside the 500m zone of offshore platforms or other regulations that would also influence the use and sizing of any battery systems or secondary propulsion systems.
Fuel storage space onboard will also be a consideration. “None of the hydrogen vessels built to date have under deck storage and accommodating the existing design to adhere to the guidelines and expected regulations with regards to ventilation, EX zones and toxicity zones may be difficult. This is one of the first exercises for the team working with the technical specifications to verify if we need an above-deck-only solution or if any of the existing tank space can be used,” says Trøen.
“The remaining lifetime of the vessels will be a key parameter for the economic feasibility of retrofits. We aim to also be able to give an indication of how long the remaining vessel life should be for these projects to be feasible. However, this will of course also be dependent on other factors such as how emission taxes, CAPEX and other alternative costs for the conventional diesel systems evolve too,” she said.
Technology development continues to advance. Project partner HAV Hydrogen says the project’s objective perfectly complements its retrofittable containerised zero-emission hydrogen energy systems for ships. The Zero Emission Pod system is a turnkey, standalone power pod where all support and safety systems as well as electrical power management are included. Using 200kW hydrogen PEM fuel cell modules, the system can easily provide 1,000kW within the footprint of a standard 20 container.
In 2022, project partner Bergen Engines started the three-year AMAZE (The Ammonia Zero Emissions) project with the aim of developing a fuel-flexible internal combustion engine with carbon-free ammonia as the primary fuel. It is a collaboration between Bergen Engines, Equinor, SINTEF Energy Research, SINTEF Ocean, NTNU, and RISE Fire Research. The project is not product development where the aim would have been to have a commercial engine ready for sale at the end of the project. Instead, it is designed to provide information on the necessary technology. The company is also conducting a hydrogen project, and trials running a Bergen gas engine on a blend of green hydrogen and natural gas were successfully completed at the end of 2022.
The ZEG H1 production plant, located near the Northern Lights CO2 storage facility, is already producing hydrogen from natural gas and can produce approximately one ton of hydrogen per day.
Some partners are already working to develop local fuel supply chains. H2 Production, a subsidiary of CCB, is already producing hydrogen from natural gas, with CO2 capture, at the CCB Energy Park in Øygarden, outside Bergen, in partnership with carbon capture company ZEG Power. The ZEG H1 production plant, located near the Northern Lights CO2 storage facility, can produce approximately one ton of hydrogen per day. Meanwhile, Provaris has designed a compressed hydrogen tanker and floating bunkering station. The company is involved in projects in and beyond Norway.
Addressing the needs and expectations of shipyard involvement is an important component of the retrofit project. “One of the main considerations for a shipyard undertaking the retrofit is the profitability,” says Hystad. “What are the economic and technical risks, and is this reflected in the profitability? We also hope to determine the required adaptions the yards need to make with regards to space, /resources, equipment, competence, and safety.” The potential benefits could include gaining a competitive advantage over shipyards outside Norway.
The retrofit project is scoped such that it will draw on the experience of all the participants. “We hope that this study will provide necessary answers to questions that today are only assumptions through the whole /ammonia value chain,” she says. “The most comprehensive part of the study is the part where we are looking into retrofit of PSVs, however it is also very important to highlight issues in other parts of the value chain. If we cannot solve a major issue or question related to, for example, location of production facilities or shipyard capacity, then we do not have a very strong case for the retrofit itself.”
Project results are scheduled to be released in Q4 2024.
