Global Energy Ventures receives approval in principle for pilot compressed hydrogen ship
Global Energy Ventures says its compressed hydrogen ship is a “safe, energy efficient and cost competitive hydrogen carrier” that will enable multiple greenfield export projects to be advanced to commercialisation.
Perth-based Global Energy Ventures (ASX: GEV) has received approval in principle (AIP) from the American Bureau of Shipping for its pilot compressed hydrogen (CH-2) ship with a 430-tonne cargo capacity.
The AIP is the precursor to an approval for construction from ABS and is considered the key technical barrier to achieving commercialisation for the CH-2 ship and supply chain.
Global Energy said the receipt of AIP and the accompanying road map to construction approval has “materially de-risked the path forward to a construction-ready milestone”.
Chief executive officer Martin Carolan said the company would now work with ABS to progress the various engineering phases.
“We are pleased to have received this approval, which follows a similar approval received from ABS earlier this year for our CH-2 ship with a 2000-tonne capacity,” he said.
“ABS is a leading classification society for gas carriers and we are looking forward to working with [the organisation] to ensure that our CH-2 ships continue to meet the highest safety standards.”
Supporting hydrogen projects
Global Energy’s innovative CH-2 ship is a highly-functional, Handymax-sized gas carrier designed to support the requirements of greenfield hydrogen projects being established for export by the mid-2020s.
Handymax-sized ocean-going ships are relatively small and able to enter most ports.
With a load carrying capacity of up to 60,000 tonnes, the vessels are amongst the smallest bulk carrier ships in operation today.
The compressed hydrogen ship is equipped with an electric drive propulsion system, using highly-efficient, dual-fuel (natural gas and hydrogen) engines developed by Finnish company Wartsila to power generators coupled to two electric drive-fixed pitch propellers.
The ship can also be equipped with dynamic positioning to allow it to hold its position using bow and aft thruster systems and support safe and efficient offshore loading operations.
Global Energy is also working with Canadian clean technology manufacturer Ballard Power Systems to ultimately power its invention with marine fuel cells using 100% hydrogen to provide a zero-carbon shipping solution.
Energy-efficient solution
Mr Carolan said ongoing talks with the operators of several hydrogen development projects has reinforced the view that compression can provide a “simple and energy-efficient” shipping solution between hydrogen suppliers and customers up to a distance of 4,500 nautical miles.
“Our CH-2 scoping study [released in March] has provided a platform for commercial and technical discussions with third parties,” he said.
“We remain encouraged by the quality of [hydrogen] organisations which are making direct enquiries [with us] about compression as an alternative to other types of carriers being assessed during their FEED [front-end engineering and design] selection.”
HyEnergy collaboration
Global Energy recently announced a collaboration with the HyEnergy zero carbon project located on WA’s Gascoyne coast, whereby its pilot CH-2 ship will be used as a base case in a feasibility study for the transport of green hydrogen to markets in the Asia-Pacific.
The project is operated by Province Resources (ASX: PRL) and independent French renewable company Total Eren and is focused on the development of an 8 gigiwatt renewable power facility and downstream hydrogen plant.
Mr Carolan said Global Energy remains in discussion with several parties about undertaking similar feasibility level studies to gain selection in their FEED design to create an integrated hydrogen export project.