Provaris Energy advances development of compressed hydrogen carrier
Provaris Energy managing director Martin Carolan says interest in the company’s compressed hydrogen solutions is increasing in the UK and Europe with the current global focus on energy security.
The team behind Provaris Energy’s (ASX: PV1) new compressed hydrogen carrier is advancing the vessel’s final design package for discussions with shipyards in Asia.
The move has been considered an important milestone to refine costs and schedules for construction, and feed into related project studies.
Provaris’ team has completed several work packages including hull design optimisation (speed-power, structural steel assessments, and intact and damage stability), finite element modelling, shipboard safety systems, general arrangement drawings and a ship outline specification.
The packages are being shared with shipyards to determine construction schedules and capital cost estimates as part of an Approval for Construction milestone targeted for the middle of next year.
Provaris (which changed its name from Global Energy Ventures this week) said its design team and consultants had completed 70% of the detailed contract design package phase and remain on track for delivery next month.
The company has engaged ABS Consulting for gas dispersion and fire and explosion studies needed to verify safety of the carrier in operation, specifically with regards to hydrogen storage tanks and cargo management.
Scoping and feasibility studies are underway and due for completion in July.
Concept designs
Provaris is now working on concept designs for the export and import of hydrogen in Asia and Europe.
It is expected a base design will be adaptable to multiple locations, with site specific access and regulatory requirements a key requirement for customisation.
Provaris has engaged Singapore-based marine structural engineering company Paaras Marine Solutions to develop and assess port solutions for loading and unloading of compressed hydrogen using its GH2 carrier.
The scope of works for Paaras includes concept development of a marine facility in Singapore to receive the carriers for unloading and decompression of compressed hydrogen for local distribution; the evaluation of existing marine facilities at the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory to accommodate GH2 carriers; concept development of a storage barge for compressed hydrogen based on intermittent redundancies in the supply chain.
All designs will be included in feasibility studies for the Tiwi H2 large-scale green hydrogen export project and the HyEnergy zero carbon hydrogen facility project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region.
Both projects are targeting the export of green hydrogen to Asia.
European and UK markets
Provaris said screening also continues for compressed hydrogen projects in regional markets of Asia and Europe.
Provaris managing director Martin Carolan said the company’s management recently completed a visit to Europe and the UK to market its compressed hydrogen solution.
He said the response had been “encouraging”, with interest increasing given the current global focus on energy security.