Kick-Off-Meeting NavHyS, January 21-22, Bremen
NavHyS Kick-Off meeting, 21-22 January 2025 in Bremen, Germany:
Advancing Liquid Hydrogen Innovation in Shipping
14 leading companies from across Europe have gathered at the ECOMAT Center in Bremen, Germany, for the official launch of NavHyS, a European project dedicated to the deployment of liquid hydrogen in maritime applications. By bringing together expertise from the space industry, shipbuilding, an energy and safety, NavHyS aims to advance sustainable shipping technologies and support the decarbonisation targets of the EU Green Deal in this sector.
Specifically, the project is developing an innovative below deck liquid hydrogen storage and fuel system, to be integrated in Service Operation Vessels providing maintenance for offshore wind farms. This system will be compatible with any propulsion system, supplying gaseous hydrogen at 5 bar and ambient temperature to produce from 500kW to 2MW.
With this, NavHyS is addressing key technological barriers associated with the deployment of liquid hydrogen for long-distance shipping. While it presents a viable alternative to traditional fuels -thanks to its high energy density and strong potential to reduce carbon emissions- its onboard storage remains a major challenge, as it requires cooling and insulating tanks capable of maintaining extreme low temperatures (-253°C).
During the Kick-Off Meeting, partners presented the various work packages, outlining their roles in achieving the project’s objective -from LH2 storage design to ship integration. Additionally, interactive workshops were conducted to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange. A key highlight of the event were the visits of the Ariane 6 center and the Airbus facility, offering valuable insights into liquid hydrogen technologies and aerospace innovations that can be applied to the maritime sector.
Over the next 36 months, the consortium will work toward key milestones to successfully develop and test the fuel system. By the end of the project in 2027, NavHyS will deliver the approved design of a vessel equipped with a 200-300 m3 tank below-deck, carrying 12 to 18t of liquid hydrogen bunkered in less than
2 hours. This will enable a zero-emission strategy for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms, where the long distances to plants necessitate an operational cycle of up to 10 days, requiring large amounts of fuel.
By 2030, the project is expected to reach TRL 7-8. By 2035-2040, the technologies developed during the project are anticipated to expand to multiple EU ports, expecting deployment of 12 stations supporting 30 ships.
ERIG is proud to be part of this cutting-edge project, alongside a great team motivated to push innovation in the hydrogen sector!
Find the NavHyS Kick-Off press release
