By Scott Wright
A PROJECT set up to deliver Europe’s first sea-going vehicle and passenger ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cells that store energy from renewable sources has moved a step closer to realising its ambition.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), one of the partners in the European Union-funded HySeas III programme, has awarded a contract to Aqualisbraemar LOC Group to develop a design concept for the vessel.
CMAL, the public body which owns 36 ferries serving the west coast, Orkney and Shetland, and Aqualisbraemar LOC will work together on the plans for a double-ended, sea-going ferry with a capacity for 120 passengers and 16 cars or two trucks. The vessel will be designed to work on the route between Kirkwall and Shapinsay on Orkney, where hydrogen fuel is generated through wind power. It will also be able to operate at other ports where hydrogen could become available in the future.
John Salton, fleet manager and projects director at Inverclyde-based CMAL, said: “The contract award represents a significant step forward in establishing a new, innovative vessel concept, and marks an important shift towards entirely emissions-free marine transport. Hydrogen ferries exist, but this concept is built around using hydrogen fuel cells to power a sea-going ship, the first in the UK and Europe. If successful, the next step will be to take the knowledge and know-how into building a ferry.”
Graham Dallas, head of business development at LOC in Aberdeen, said: “We understand the important role the maritime industry has to play in the global fight for climate change. Whilst tackling marine emissions is a global responsibility, we are also proud to be supporting CMAL as part of a Scottish-led consortia, in building up world-leading competence in alternative clean fuel systems, which harnesses local marine renewable sources.”
HySeas III includes the University of St Andrews and Orkney Islands Council.
Several European organisations, Kongsberg of Norway, Ballard of Denmark, McPhy of France, Arcsilea of England and Interferry of Sweden, are also part of the consortium.
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