Zero-emission shipping: Green hydrogen-powered container ships

Project leader
The project is being carried out by the logistics service provider Samskip in cooperation with the Indian shipyard Cohin Shipyard Ltd.

Description of the project

The shipping sector is committed to decarbonising maritime transport through the use of green fuels such as hydrogen, methanol or green ammonia.

An example of this is the large shipping company Maersk, which two years ago began to convert its fleet to more sustainable fuels by using green methanol. Another example would be the case of the engineering consultancy and technology provider Aelius, with offices in Madrid, Tarragona, the United States and Australia, which has promoted a pilot test in collaboration with the Chinese company Shanghai Electric to transform a ship and adapt it to run on green ammonia.

A third example is the ambitious and innovative project on which the multimodal freight, refrigerated logistics and international forwarding logistics company Samskip, which has offices in Europe, America, Asia and Australia, has embarked, focusing on implementing carbon-free maritime transport services through the acquisition of two vessels powered by green hydrogen, which will be destined to serve routes in Western Europe. Samskip signed a contract for the vessels with Indian shipbuilding company, Cochin Shipyard ltd.

These two vessels will be among the first short-sea container ships in the world to use green hydrogen as fuel. Each vessel is expected to achieve around 25,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction per year. In addition, they will achieve zero-emission port operations through the use of green energy ashore at the port of call.

Green hydrogen is a 100% sustainable fuel. It does not emit pollutant gases either during combustion or when it is produced as it is produced from biomass or captured carbon and hydrogen from renewable energies. In addition to being 100% sustainable, it is easily storable and can be used for industrial, commercial, mobility or transport purposes.

The project is part of the Norwegian government’s green funding programme for emission-free transport solutions through the adoption of sustainable and innovative future technologies.

These initiatives represent a milestone in the shipping industry, demonstrating a commitment to sustainable innovation and a determination to lead the transition to a cleaner, more environmentally friendly future.

Objectives of the project

The central objective of this project is to move towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly shipping by implementing innovative transport technologies and using green hydrogen as a fuel for container ships, which significantly reduces the carbon footprint.