Green shipping Corridor using liquid hydrogen technology

ACUA Ocean, a zero-emission vessel provider, in partnership with Unitrove, a zero-emission infrastructure provider, has secured over £3.8m of funding from the UK government to build and showcase an autonomous vessel and bunkering infrastructure technologies for liquid hydrogen. The project, called “Hydrogen Innovation – Future Infrastructure & Vessel Evaluation and Demonstration (HI-FIVED)”, is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 3 (CMDC3) and aims to establish a domestic green shipping corridor between Aberdeen and the Orkney and Shetland Islands, using hydrogen-powered autonomous ships to transport cargo. The consortium, consisting of the Port of Aberdeen, the University of Southampton, Zero Emissions Maritime Technology, Composite Manufacturing and Design, Trident Marine Electrical, and NASH Maritime, is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions’ (UK SHORE) flagship multi-year CMDC programme aimed at decarbonising the maritime sector. HI-FIVED project is expected to be delivered in autumn of 2024.

Michael Tinmouth, COO of ACUA Ocean, said: “Delivering successful technology demonstrations is critical to de-risking future investment in maritime decarbonisation. This CMDC3 project brings together a consortium of innovative partners, subcontractors, and suppliers from across the maritime sector, who are all laser-focused on the need to reduce emissions and accelerate the adoption and commercialisation of new technologies.” Steven Lua, CEO of Unitrove, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive UK government support to enable real-world demonstration of the world’s first liquid hydrogen autonomous vessel and infrastructure. Having built such a strong consortium of eight fantastic partners across the supply-chain, we can have great confidence that we will deliver something truly remarkable.”